sorry, @Robbie. i could not make the game due to work and i did not listen to it either. that is why i have not voted. 😥

I voted for Tom Iorpenda. I think he's going to be a good acquisition for Notts

The Poll has now closed. I'm pleased to announce that Tom Iorpenda has been voted the Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match against Wigan.

1 hour ago, DangerousSausage said:

Everton move into their new stadium this year, they have a competent manager and are not short of a bob or two. This season will mark a fresh start for them, and Grealish is an exciting signing.

They are still very much strapped for cash due to overspending previous seasons, though that doesn't stop Premier League teams from accumilating debt and spending more money.

Their new chairman should be able to invest, but Everton won't improve all that much.

They need to invest too much to compete with the upper table, and I doubt they'll even make it past mid-table. Which is a shame, because Everton have some talented young players, that could prove themselves.

Personally, for Jack Grealish this will be a loan to other clubs to say "come get me".

His price tag and potential current wages might lose bidders, but if he does well for Everton even though I don't fancy them to do well in the league table standings. It could be his way to attract a german club to come in for him. Dortmund reportedly expressed interest in him; however, his salary became a significant hurdle. I guess Everton might be willing to contribute more to Man City as a means to get a good player.

It's a better move for Everton, than it would appear to me for Jack himself. Though, I wish and hope he does well because he's too good for them.

i would have thought one of the top six teams would have thought about trying to make it a loan to buy move, he could do well with somewhere like spurs or chelsea. though i do agree with @Chris, that a return to aston villa would be magical. maybe when his contract runs out? i dont know how long is left on his city deal.

imagine moving for 100 mil and then resigning to your former team on a free, that would be the ultimate way to stick it to pep.

plus the experience gained whilst away could further help villa with their ambitions.

though its a big signing for everton and i just hope they look after him, because he has the magic to produce goods for any team.

@liampie, I'm Fairly Certain that David Moyes knows he has a Talent on his hands, and being from the Old School of Managers, will know how to look after Jack and get the Best Out of Him. Moyes is a No Nonsense kind of Coach, so he'll make sure Jack concentrates on his Football and Not partying, but I think in that Regard Jack has (hopefully) Grown up and put all that behind him. He'll know this is a Chance for him, to Force his way back into the England reckoning, and erase the Hurt he felt after being left out of the England Euro's Squad.

@Chris .The Victorians were a Pretty Morbid Lot and seemed to have a Fascination with Death. It's a well known fact that Queen Victoria wore Widows Tweeds for the Rest of her Life, after the Death of her husband the Prince Consort, Prince Albert. She also commanded her Lady's in waiting to lay out a Clean Shirt and Albert Shaving equipment as if he was still alive. Death Jewelry was also a Big Thing in the Victorian Era, this was usually in the form of a Brooch or Pendant with a Lock of the Deceased Hair was placed.

53 minutes ago, Wheelbarrow repair man said:

Death Jewelry was also a Big Thing in the Victorian Era, this was usually in the form of a Brooch or Pendant with a Lock of the Deceased Hair was placed.

This I can understand, as it's very common for parents to keep a lock of their babies hair when it's first cut.

Though much of the other stuff is very morbid, which explains why they had a fasincation with Jack the Ripper and all those type of things. Re: Death card, a fortune teller once spoke at my school and they said that the tarot card for it wasn't always a bad sign. Not that many believed her, but I have heard it spoken in films and TV.

Queen Victoria wearing all black is probably the saddest anyone could look for the rest of their life.

I Do enjoy writing about Other Subjects has I think it brings a different perspective and hopefully Interest to the Site. And I also learn things.. @Robbie for instance I didn't know about the Ace Of Spades also having some Positive vibes. Going through my collections of Books (remember them?) the Ace Of Spades always seems to have Negative stories associated to it. And I Certainly didn't know about Football Mourning Cards, so Thanks for that @DangerousSausage

@Chris I remember my Eldest Son used to have a blonde Curl in his hair when he was a little Un. His Mum cut it off and Still keeps it Safe. Some Parents also keep their Child's first tooth, Not sure if the Missus did that, but I'm sure my Sister did when her First Kid lost their first tooth. Another thing New Parents do is keep a News Paper from the Day they were Born. My Youngest Son was Born the day after the Bocastle flooding, you may not remember that, because it was 21 years ago tomorrow. All the National Papers carried the story the following Day the Day He was Born. We also have a copy of the Nottingham Evening Post from the Day of His Birth.

There we've added a Little Bit of Light heartedness, to my Thread of Morbid (but hopefully Informative and Entertaining) story of the Ace Of Spades.

On 05/09/2024 at 17:09, menzinho said:

When Greg returned to be Neal Ardley's new assistant I was pretty shocked to be honest as I always felt his style of coaching was the complete opposite to the Bros vision, no surprises they didn't last the season...

Totally agree @menzinho Never thought for once he fitted into the Bros "technical coach" category. Always thought he was a comic sidekick to Derry. 

he was a bit of experience and someone the players could get behind, with derry being the more techinical minded. its a shame it did not work out for shaun derry but i did like greg abbott. i am glad hes still involved in football.

2 hours ago, Scotty said:

A positive.....when we went down two nil, and we made a subsitution I said "Let's see if he can make a goal from a subsitution". Within ten minutes the sub had scored.

A question.... what is the Plan B when there is a high-press like Salford had on us on Saturday? Cloughie was the first to do it on the first season back back in League 2, when the stags beat us 4.1. since then, when a team emulates them with a high press, we have little options, and as evidendenced on saturday, team can conjure a goal by putting us under pressure, forcing errors from defence and goalkeepers alike.

what is Plan B in that scenario?

As I understand it Scotty, when the opposition play with a high press, they leave space behind which we need to exploit. The problem is when players in that situation panic and just hit the ball long aimlessly, you concede possession and usually the defenders use that space to start another attack. It would seem rather that just hit long balls aimlessly we need to find a way to pass forward through the lines to players who can received the ball on the half-turn and use the space to our advantage. Of course we are talking about league 2 quality players so this is not easy. That's why league two games are often a war of attrition. The survival of the fittest and strongest and not always pretty to watch.

@Scotty . I Don't Think Notts have a Plan B, and that's been obvious since Notts have returned to the EFL. However in past seasons the Magpies have had a Decent Strike Force, which have gotten Notts out of many a Sticky Situation. This Time Around Notts have No Credible Strike force and Teams have already started to work out the Notts system, because the Magpies still play Tippy Tappy Football, that's why the Owners should have appointed a Head Coach with Vast EFL Experience on his C.V. and left him to Run the Team his way, without Interference from the Director Of Football or any other members of the Notts Higher Ups.

Some may not see it this way. I think that Martin Paterson turned to a plan B in a subtle way when he substituted three players in the second half of the Wigan match.

When he replaced Jones, Cotter, & Grant with Gordon, Hall & Dennis, it gave the Notts side much more imputus, movement & intensity.

The team looked much more balanced & cohesive. The problem was, as I saw it, he should have made those changes half way in first half & the result might have been different.

Was it a plan B to change the shape or formation? No. Was it a plan B to go more direct? No. But it was a plan B to make Notts more effective going forward by giving them more movement, urgency, & making their attacks more effective.

Whether it was by accident or design, it nearly worked.

I have implemented scrolls into both of the themes.

Don't know how to change how the site looks?

At the very bottom of the site, you will find a footer with a row of links. "Theme" | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Cookies

Click on the theme and choose from there. In the future, a third option will be added.

Thanks @Chris . I've always preferred the lightweight theme for my mobile. I also use the dark screen mode as well as the default screen mode.

@Robbie, the lightweight theme does the scrolling thing in a different way. I made them transparent until pressed on both desktop and laptop. I also made it so that they don't interfere with the footer/copyright.

With the default/main theme, it is only transparent on mobiles because of the lack of space at the side. On a desktop, they show to the side.

These can be useful when you are scrolling long pages, something I missed from v4.

The results:

Oxford United 0-1 Portsmouth
Stoke City 3-1 Derby County
Exeter City 4-1 Blackpool
Mansfield Town 1-2 Doncaster Rovers
Gillingham 1-0 Walsall
Oldham Athletic 1-1 Colchester United
Tamworth 1-2 Scunthorpe United
Wealdstone 2-0 Truro City

Here are this round's scores - congrats to @JustLikeJuve and @Robbie for winning this round with 13 points each, with @super_ram just behind on 12 - no mean feat after wasting his joker on Derby!

Overall, @JustLikeJuve leapfrogs @magpiejue to go top, while defending champion @super_ram joints the top three. The blue numbers are last week's positions.

The prediction league doesn't cover these new-fangled cup competitions, so the next round will be this coming Saturday. So expect to see the fixtures in the usual place on Wednesday. Thanks for playing!

I hate this game. 😂

i think i need to start doing them for grannypie again, not for myself 😂

Today is meant to be warmer than yesterday, but so far, at least from where I am, this is not the case. Though my area does warm up between 1–4 pm, which I am hoping doesn't get too hot, because it is unbearable.

I have been saving some ice cream as a means to keep cool, which is helpful, but only for as long as it works.

It's ironic how much they are going to have taken out of them, and one day, when they achieve something the right way, someone else might come along to complain about Forest. What goes around, comes around. Karma and all that. 😄

Owning or being a major shareholder of two different football clubs at the same time should be a no no & should be prohibited. An issue such as what we saw at Palace, shouldn't be just an issue with UEFA, it should be an issue domestically too.

I don't recall seeing the houses that Granny Pie once told me about quite like that; it looks like houses were built on the cattle market land. If only we could go back in time and purchase much of this land up. How different could Meadow Lane really be?

Then again, the old stands were something nostalgic, and I like how we have a traditional ground now.

8 hours ago, Chris said:

I don't recall seeing the houses that Granny Pie once told me about quite like that; it looks like houses were built on the cattle market land. If only we could go back in time and purchase much of this land up. How different could Meadow Lane really be?

Then again, the old stands were something nostalgic, and I like how we have a traditional ground now.

The cattle market was established in 1886 the picture was taken in 1933 so the cattle market would have been there, I think the land to the right of the ground is the cattle market what you can see are the animal pens.

@theAnticlough said, "The point I'm trying to make is that our identity can be eroded in many different ways. One of those would be recruiting different types of midfielders, or for any key position".

The owners definitely believe in possession based football, there is no doubt about that, but I do see a subtle change in the programming for their football radar analysis system regarding the type of players Notts are looking for.

I think back to the difference of approach between Williams & Maynard. Luke being attack minded, Stuart more defence minded. Now Martin wants to be more physical.

There has to be a fine balance between attack, defence, now physicality. Martin has to get all three right now. I think Martin has enough players for him to decide who fits best across the side especially in midfield. I hope it doesn't take him too long.

Definitely @Robbie, I really like MP. Let's hope there's a winning formula somewhere in the squad for him to find.

Those adaptations though....

You could say 'a subtle change in the programming for their football radar analysis system'

or

the start of a kind of flip-flopping Trew did with his manager appointments, swinging from one side of the options to the other. We're supposed to have an attacking, ball-playing, possession-based approach. But let in a few goals - go more defensive. Get beat a few times by some bruisers - get tougher, recruit more physical players.

How the season plays out will provide the answers. Have the club been really smart in recalibrating their data model? Or have they just confused themselves? Hoping and praying for the former, obviously.

I think sometimes you can get hung-up on style of football, if you want to be possession-based or defensive and direct you can, you just have to have the coach and players that are capable of doing it. It’s more about how effective you put into practice your chosen style. If say under Paterson we have less possession and play more direct, but get results will anyone really care?

That said I still think the possession-based style is there, it was very evident against Newport, particularly first half. Salford just did really well to stifle us and our movement and general sloppiness on the ball didn’t help us.

On @theAnticlough point about Norburn I agree he’s not had a great start but he’s possibly been thrown in too early. He missed a lot of the pre-season and so perhaps he's not quite up to speed. Very early days but right now it’s got to be Palmer and Iorpenda in the middle and that will help us to play the progressive possession-based style. Norburn played under Steve Bruce at Blackpool and that definitely wasn’t possession based, by when he went to Wigan on loan he would've played a more possession-based style under Ryan Lowe.

I think adding a more physical and quick players benefits a possession-based side too, Dennis, Cotter, Iorpenda & Bennetts all look pacey. Possession based doesn’t always mean 5 yard tippy-tappy balls, you can still play direct balls and be possession based, you just need players actually making the runs so they can get onto the ball before the opposition!

I do think we’ve gone a bit wild with the recruitment though, that to me suggests we are not 100% sure about who or what we want. I wouldn’t have said at the end of last season we needed lots of changes, just some good replacements for the players we lost.

Surprised there are no votes for our colourblind Goalkeeper??

The poll has now closed. Thank you to all who voted. I am very pleased to announce that Keanan Bennetts has been voted as the Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match against Salford.

I thought he had a very good game, a little disappointed for Sonny Aldjofree as I really do believe he was up there, but you can't argue with the votes. Second half, Keanan Bennetts looked like a very sharp player.

I am very pleased for him; thanks to all who voted!

Please look out for the poll against Wigan.

i think the timing of the interview is quite good, with the focus on the weekend coming to make meadow lane a fortress and explaining the thought process behind the signings. i am not one of them to lose hope based on signings, it takes more to chip at my positivity and i think i am quite patient. i do think a lot of notts fans need to be more mindful about how they quite easily go into meltdowns.

3 hours ago, Robbie said:

It's too late for Stuart, but it does appear that the Club have learned lessons from what happened between January & May when Stuart was left on his own.

That’s exactly what I mean. Fans asked for this before, and now it’s finally here.

We’ve still got a head coach who’s learning, but he’ll gain a lot from the people around him. With his own drive to win matches, having that support should help things go better than they would have without it.

Well, if the club has learned anything from listening to fans pleas, they should be trying to sort out the lone striker requirement.

The interview was decent, most of what you would expect, but the intention for the interview wasn't aimed at someone like me; it was aimed toward his doubters and the fans who are concerned. I thought I read that the club was looking at bringing in another striker; I know they don't grow on trees, but the thought of signing someone who can score 20+ needs to be lowered to someone who can get double digits easily.

So far this season, we don't seem to want to walk the ball into the net, which will make it difficult for someone like Matthew Dennis. I hope Roberto Gagliardi sees that we need someone who can lead the line.

While we relied on what we refer to as "walking the ball into the net," it did lead to a lot of goals being scored.

There's no reason why we need to avoid it; just don't rely on it as the only means of scoring.

Credit @ARLukomski

I don’t think there’s any need for fans to panic or spread fear. Yes, it was a poor start at Meadow Lane, but we should try to stay supportive. Some players aren’t fully match fit yet, others haven’t settled in, and we’ve got a new head coach who people seem to change their minds about very quickly.

We’re Notts County, stress levels are always high and the football isn’t always perfect. Trust the players to put things right, and give Martin Paterson ten games before making a judgement. Salford beat us because we didn’t use the ball well, but that’s something we can fix.

We’ve played two games and have one point. Worrying about losing now doesn’t help. Salford did well enough when they weren’t cheating or wasting time, and I agree that it got into our players’ heads. We need to be stronger mentally.

The biggest thing missing against Salford was attacking intent. We didn’t create chances or take shots. There were no solo runs, no drifting wide, and we didn’t make use of the space through the middle. That has to change.

On 10/08/2025 at 19:45, TheSkipper said:

I don’t think there’s any need for fans to panic or spread fear. Yes, it was a poor start at Meadow Lane, but we should try to stay supportive. Some players aren’t fully match fit yet, others haven’t settled in, and we’ve got a new head coach who people seem to change their minds about very quickly.

Well said @TheSkipper

It’s very early days and we all know how things can change very quickly in football, if things haven’t changed after 10 games then we can start to worry, there’s no need to panic yet.

I’m still pretty new to the site, but I’ve noticed things getting better. I really like how it looks and works, and it’s nice that people are being kind to me. Even though I’m young, it feels like my thoughts matter.

The updates are a good idea to help everyone know what’s going on, even if not many people read them. It shows that someone cares about keeping us all in the loop.

48 minutes ago, Ash said:

Even though I’m young, it feels like my thoughts matter.

@Ash we are family here, young like you or old like me or ancient like @super_ram 😂 it doesn’t matter how old you are your views are respected.

Update:

I have corrected the Head Coach page, retitling it from "The Manager" to Head Coach to fit in with the club's vision. It's fully updated to cover Martin Paterson.

https://prideofnottingham.co.uk/club/head-coach/

The first team staff page is also now updated: https://prideofnottingham.co.uk/club/staff/

As is the first team squad: https://prideofnottingham.co.uk/club/first-team-squad/

Instead of doing goalkeeper, defender, midfield, attack. I have categorised the players into the positions they fit in our current system. Therefore, at least to me, it makes sense to identify where a player should be expected to play. Avoiding the club's current layout, where players seem to be thrown on, i.e, Barry Cotter is a wing back, as is Kellan Gordon. Not a defender or midfielder, as the OS has them currently.

League table has prime positions now styled in with CSS: https://prideofnottingham.co.uk/club/league-table/

All toggle nicely between the light and dark versions of the themes PON offers.

I am hoping to get the newsletter widget upgraded, with the API pointing to the system PON will be using.

I tried briefly to send bulk messages at the beginning of the pre-season, but it didn't work as I had hoped. So, I will focus on curating an email list where people will have subscribed. Therefore, I can focus on delivering the news, information, and guest pieces for them.

Both the league and squad page now use the app I spoke about previously.

It would be great if some members would be willing to volunteer some time to help me with this, as I need to add a lot of data to make the most of the system's full features. Primarily focusing on adding players to different teams. (Please let me know in the comments if you can help.)

Upcoming versions will feature data-driven statistics widgets.

Top 5 goalscorers, assists, league, and Notts-related statistics, among much more.

The fixture widgets will be sprinkled around the site, so we can show the upcoming game and previous results in selected areas. Linking to our match reports and match discussions.

Man of the Match ratings, along with team and formation selectors, prediction league, and what grounds you have visited. All are to be looked into; the current prediction league will not be replaced, it will just be easier to manage and remind people. Scores will be guessed, then posted to the appropriate topic with the Joker card. After which, @DangerousSausage can automate the scores and league table accordingly. That information will then be posted to the topic. 👍🏻

Historical data and stat pages will also be a future goal for the application, as I wish to preserve as much history of the Pride of Nottingham as I can. There are some excellent resources out there, but my aim is to make sure any data PON has will be future-proof.

There's no ETA or timeline with the future features, the main thing is to get the system as powerful as possible with the core functions.

I’m curious to see how George Abbott gets on without the support he had at Notts. It’ll be interesting to see if he plays the same way for them. His role will be key, because we know he’s a classy player who’s going places. Being loaned to a League One side makes sense, bigger clubs want to test their young players at higher levels before pushing them further. Spurs have done that before with signings from League One and the Championship. I wish Abbott all the best at Wycombe.

Best Of Luck Georgie Boy. After last season down the Lane, I was surprised a Championship Club didn't come in for him. I think he's have done well at Derby. Wycombe have got themselves a Gem and if they back him like the Magpies did, he'll be in for another Good Season, I'll keep an eye out on his progress.

Although they lost, looks like he was one of Wycombe's bright sparks in the match. Don't favour them too much this season, hope he manages to avoid relegation.

I'm pleased for Macca that he seems to be turning things around for himself at Millwall. It is still true about him, if he gets the right supply he will score goals.

That's three goals for Macca in the last two games. He came on as a substitute today, but if he can keep hitting the back of the net as a super sub it won't belong before he's in the starting eleven.

One thing's for sure, he won't be leaving Millwall while he keeps banging the goals in. If he does, his fee will have gone up for a perspective buyer, that is for sure.

Well Done Macca!! Pleased For The Guy, if like it's been said Millwall Play To His Strengths Then He'll Get The Goals.

I can't see the season tickets selling many more now, but the club has to keep plugging them. I would love to know the amount of sales in total and the potential number of away fans expected to make the trip to Nottingham.

It would be interesting to know how many non season season ticket holder members there are who can't get to every match, but want to pay for a discounted ticket when they can attend.

I do think that the amount of season tickets sold will get the attendance over 10K at least for every home match.

.

Hello, @MC 11. Please take some time to get used to things and once you do, you will see there's many good ways to find content which might suite you better. Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham.

Hello, @MC 11. Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham. We like welcoming members, even if few introduce themselves or get involved. However, we always hope that members will. Welcome again and enjoy the site!

Hello, @MC 11. Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham. I hope you enjoy being a part of our Notts County community!

I do apologise for not taking the time to welcome you, somehow I must have missed this.

It’s a bit different for us to try and make the most of the loan market. The club has usually treated it as a way to bring in the odd player who fits a gap. I just hope we can keep players like Tyrese Hall happy. If he does well, he should get minutes, but there’s always the chance he won’t get the time he needs to show what he can do. I can’t say for sure, but Martin Paterson has plenty of options in midfield now.

Sounds like he’s got a bit of everything. Looking forward to seeing him play.

The young loan signings should offer something different. They must have shown promise to catch the eye of their parent clubs, so we can only hope the loan spells go well.

I don’t mind using this part of the market, as long as every player who comes in is willing to work hard and give solid performances.

Good afternoon, we’ve had another day of cutting up carpet and underlay ready for our new carpet that coming Tuesday. It’s very tiring work shifting furniture about and getting down on my hands and knees to cut lengths of carpet to take to the tip.

We’d had enough by 3pm and I downloaded my ticket for tomorrow then we relaxed in the garden in the lovely sunshine with a cool drink. Mrs. t’s home made chicken biryani tonight looking forward to that.

@Robbie best wishes to Mrs Robbie I don’t envy her a dentist appointment I’ve had far too many recently.

most days seem to fly by but to day, its just seemed slow and it was one of those days where things were non stop at work. i love my job, i put all of my effort into being the best that i can but i came home today feeling drained. i dont normally feel tired at all after leaving, i can be quite hyper and wanting to do the next thing.

8 hours ago, Robbie said:

Mrs R broke one of her back teeth yesterday afternoon just eating a sandwich. Off to the Dentist this morning.

i hope mrs r is okay, i hope it gets fixed and that she has no pain.

8 hours ago, Michael D Pie. said:

Managed to get out for some lovely food last evening with Mrs P and number 2 son. I had Sweet potato, Leek and Cheddar cheese pie (cheese,onion and potato pie really) just poshed it up a little. I haven't had that since I was 10 years old and my Mum used to make it at least once a week and we had it with baked beans, happy days. 😃

reminds me of my own mum, she had certain meals set for every day and it was like clockwork. you never had to think about what you wanted. cheese, onion and potato pie. cottage pie, cheese and beans. all sorts of warm home cooked meals.

8 hours ago, Robbie said:

Mrs R broke one of her back teeth yesterday afternoon just eating a sandwich. Off to the Dentist this morning.

Hope it went OK.

About 3 months ago I took a bite and knew something bad had happened. The pain and sensation went after a day but over the next few weeks, 2 different dentists couldn't find anything wrong, even from x-rays (although the first one offered to yank out my wisdom teeth while he was in there).

I had a different emergency dental problem and holidays which stopped me dealing with this first problem, and lo and behold returning to the second dentist the molar I suspected all along is divided in two all along, you could park a bike there, and is pronounced dead! Now I'm going to have to go down the implant route.

My jaw bone is about to become the recipient of plugs and screws drilled in by power tools.

I agree that UEFA is making a big mistake & FIFA is just behind them when it comes to dealing with Russian teams. I can understand the argument that Football Clubs in Russia shouldn't be punished because of the actions of their Government, but to send their Clubs millions of Euros should not be happening. And as @Chris has said, we just don't know that the money will be spent appropriately.

This gets a bit political, but I want to focus on the point that nobody wanted to give anyone connected to Russia money at the beginning of the war's outbreak. Chelsea's owner had silly sanctions, his money withheld, and further pressure to sell Chelsea, from which sale he donated to Ukraine.

However, this is perfectly fine. Why should they even get a handout?

i am baffled and disappointed by this, i dont see the need for the offer because russia got themselves into this mess.