The older posters remember it well

And these are the kits worn in that first season: http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/English_Football_League/season/1888-89.htm

19 minutes ago, DangerousSausage said:

The older posters remember it well

Even I was a mere twinkle in my Great Grandad’s eye. 

On 09/04/2024 at 08:48, DangerousSausage said:

I'm expecting some politician's answers as club employees are limited in what they can say and they can hardly rip into our current players. That limitation aside, I think it'll be illuminating and it's good that they're speaking on a fans' platform that isn't controlled by the club. 

Yeah I'm not quite sure what some fans are realistically expecting from this. A lot has already been said in the statement the board put out earlier, fair enough if you don't agree with it but you're not going to get a different answer a few weeks later. And considering they themselves have admitted the season has been disappointing season, it's not been disastrous so I'm not quite sure what questions are even that tough for them to answer?

I think it'll be interesting to watch but at the same time part of me feels like I'll know some of answers they'll give. If for example they question why didn't we sign any defenders, I'm sure the answer will simply be; some of our targets weren't available/ some wanted too much money/ some signed for other clubs...

@menzinho I agree, I don't think we will learn much more than what we know already from both statements.

I'm sure both of them will stick to the script and ensure they don't deviate from what they wrote.

The most important thing we have learned is that they are behind Stuart Maynard, and they wanted to end any speculation about his future and they certainly have.

@menzinho I've listened to the podcast and we haven't learned much more than what we already knew 

Jodie for me with Macca a close second.

I think Jodi will win it and I have no issue if that's the outcome because he's had a record breaking assist season. I voted for Crowley though, in terms of levels I think he's been our most consistent player this season.

@Wheelbarrow repair man

I would give Stuart 6 for last night.

He picked the most experienced side he could, his substitutions worked. We could have easily have scored 5 on the night.

Jodi had an excellent chance that he missed playing on the right.

Langstaff missed 2 gilt head chances

Jodi has several assists over the season playing from the right, the cross to Langstaff against Newport away comes to mind 

You can't blame the Manager for individual mistakes, who would you suggest he played at the back against Stockport. O'Brien, Robertson and Randall? 

But you've also got to give Stockport credit too. They sniffed out much of our threat. They didn't get promotion for nothing.

One thing we can't blame SM is the atrocious defence that he has inherited.

Ashby Hammond 6.5 - Made a few good saves and had a lot to do, probably could’ve done better for their first though.

Brindley 5 - Didn’t do a lot wrong, didn’t do a lot right either though. I thought his positioning was poor and he struggled take the ball forward.

Baldwin 3 - Why does he try and turn so sharply when he’s under pressure, there was a forward pass on as well. Generally, a night to forget.

Cameron 5 – Looked flustered and panicked in our own box too many times. At least he tried to bring the ball out of defence.

Nemane 6 – Our most dangerous outlet, actually got at the Stockport defence. Struggled when moved to RB.

Jones 5 – Didn’t really help us defensively first half, (I know it’s not his strength) but equally he didn’t cause them much trouble down either wing. Didn’t look like League 2 player of the season in that game.

Bostock 3 – Completely off the pace, barely won a challenge, too many touches too many backward passes.

Austin 4 – Ran around but struggled to get involved or do anything of note.

Crowley 7 – It probably helped his teammates were so poor but in a game like that you can see why Arsene Wenger rated him. Good on the ball, tried to get us going forwards and scored a great goal.

Langstaff 5.5 – The usual effort was there, missed a decent chance first half but scored a decent goal second half.

McGouldrick 3.5 – Looked slow, again too many touches at times and his shooting was poor.

Subs:

Robertson 6.5 - It was a shame, given the other midfield performances, he didn’t start. Got at the Stockport players and stopped them playing through us (a bit).

O’Brien 5 – Better than Austin and Bostock, still had a couple of sloppy moments on the ball.

Randall 4 - Just kept shifting the ball when he got it, didn’t really want to take their defence on. And he cannot defend well, if he’d have backed off anymore for that last goal he’d have been in the stands.

I thought we missed Jatta and Macari, somehow both are both injured though… I don’t what’s happening with this constant cycle of players picking up injuries this season. Chicksen, I assume is injured again? And we had to recall Mahovo because I guess Rawlinson and Tobi are injured too now... Are we training on some sort of ancient burial site where if you run over certain parts you get cursed?

Great goal and Notts defenders should watch how they play out from the back. 

Stockport get a fifth from a cross from a short corner.

Notts 2 Stockport 5

It ends in defeat 

Notts 2 Stockport 5.

We know what the problems are. Our defence is just not good enough. Several players not up to it in this league.

At least we got a little bit of pride back in that second half. Langstaff should have had a hat trick but you have to hand it to Stockport. They are the best team in the league this season.

This tweet by Tom Williams just sums up our season, but next season will be different.

Yes! Were the landlords, the Mayhews???...they also ran the Centenary Lounge, located where Lawtons Bar is, in the old main stand

8 hours ago, Piethagoram said:

Yes! Were the landlords, the Mayhews???...they also ran the Centenary Lounge, located where Lawtons Bar is, in the old main stand

 

 

 

I don’t think I ever knew the landlords name. It was a nice watering hole before the match.

A lovely day yesterday doing the treasure hunt with family in the city centre.

What a beautiful city Nottingham is.

The weekend has just got a lot better.

The sun is out,

Notts have another win 

Nottinghamshire Cricket have had an excellent opening two days,

Britain's Ladies Tennis team have beaten France.

It's not raining so I can cut the grass  today.

And Nottingham Rugby play at the bay this afternoon.

Happy weekend.

An evening of 1970's comedies insights.

20 hours ago, Fan of Big Tone said:

Good point @Robbie it should put a few grand on the asking price,

It's already Been stated (fact) that we're not forced to sell. Not to say we wouldn't  refuse any silly offers. Just don't have to sell for financial reasons 

@4everapie exactly.

If a club is ambitious they try all they can to keep hold of their best players. We have three gems in Macca, Jodi and Dan and we should expect no less than Notts trying to keep all three.

On 07/04/2024 at 14:17, menzinho said:

Not sure they actually needed to put that statement out to be honest.

I feel the same way, although I believe this to be very sensible PR and should help to give Stuart Maynard some more support.

There had been a growing pressure on social media for the club to address fans concerns, with some believing that the board needed to address what has gone wrong. I think some of this has stemmed from how we started to plummet down the table, however, relegation was never going to be a concern.

A lot of fans will only want to know what's what and whilst I don't think the statement was warranted, I am pleased it has been handled in this manner because it shows how well we are taking the club's growth seriously. It's not a short term thing, nor the words of a five-year plan. We are taking each season as a means to improve and address what is going wrong. I think it's made a positive difference, which is all I care about.

I understand why some fans might be against Maynard, however, I feel it vital we stand as one.

The only way that I would be concerned about him, is if the players had given up completely. Comparing Maynard to Jamie Fullarton based on the win ratio, it just proves how stats can be twisted to fit someone's view point.

And yet Chris Stats and Data seem to be used for everything else at the Lane such as signing players and why Notts should be 8th and Not 14th. It doesn't matter how data on some players states they should remain at Notts because the stats say so, watching their performances week in and week out shows that in the Real World certain players should be let Go. One good game in three or four matches does Not Instil Confidence in the Fanbase. 

@Wheelbarrow repair man

When you brought up the stats it got me thinking about do they look at an individual player's stats throughout the season.

For instance, will they be looking at the number of tackles, interceptions, mistakes made, penalties given away, headers won, work rate, how a player reads the game, successful passes, unsuccessful passes, and assists.

I'm quite sure they will be able to put together a comprehensive player stat profile, however, as you intimated, performance, attitude, coping with pressure, are they a team player, is their performance consistent, what is their fitness record, are they easily injured, are they comfortable on the ball?

Having the full picture has to be the clincher to decide if a player is chosen for the team or dropped or if they stay at the club or go.

But something went wrong last summer and in January when it didn't look like some or most of these stats had been used, when we failed to release players that were lacking the skill for league 2, or recruit the right players that would have strengthened the side.

I was going to say something Robbie but I think it would just be going over Old Ground.

its really good to have you back, @Piethagoram. this is exactly the reason why we missed you and why you are such an important member of the community. thanks for the detailed response.

I'm starting to think if Notts were able to play with a level of calmness, much of our defensive mistakes would be greatly reduced. It's difficult to put aside that mental pressure you have, from expectations and disappointment over previous mistakes. I am sure all the players from one time or another dwell on a mistake which has proven costly and whilst they're professionals - they are still humans.

This is why I don't think fans getting onto the backs of players is fair, especially when it is clear that the player isn't performing underpart due to not caring but because of everything that comes with attempting to be successful.

Some players can cope with pressure, others don't. At our level, I think it is perfectly normal that it will have more bearing on their form and ability. Otherwise, I am sure more of our current squad would be competing higher up the Football League. In the short term, it's easy to come up with solutions or notice things which are causing problems, but it's only in hindsight that things can become a lot clearer. Reflecting on how woeful we have been at times, for me is the way that our passing back tends to put the pressure on yourself even when we are retaining the ball well.

The reliance we have on passing the ball back, needs to sometimes come at the cost of attempting to be creative going forward.

I have seen a noticeable increase in defending, from players who it might not come so naturally too. Such as Jodi Jones, who did very well at times against Walsall and some of the times he cut them out, it stopped them from breaking at us.

We have players who can pick the ball back up and win it, another player who has been fairly criticised is John Bostock. Again, I thought he did his role superbly against Walsall and since returning to the team, he does seem to have that spark back. Perhaps he was just jaded from playing so much, that his performances weren't to the level we have become to know, but it is good to see him doing well.

When one or two players perform beneath their ability, it will create problems and that's why next season I hope we can balance the squad out better. Build a team where we have depth in case of injuries and ability that is ready to be called upon when needed. Given the time, this is ideally where some of our own youngsters would fall into the category as a way to get them first team experience and further minutes under their belt.

The percentage stat of how we enjoy so much possession is a good thing, but we must learn to use this to our advantage. Teams get frustrated when they can't get the ball, whilst we need to avoid injuries, we do need to be a little braver that some challenges may result in the officials giving cards. This is just common sense that teams avoid losing players due to suspension, but we never really take advantage of it. Be calm at the back; this will allow the creative players within our team to do their jobs without worries of what they lose the ball. In turn, it would create a more winning mentality, whilst I think one or two players in the defensive department would make a difference. We don't have a bad squad and hopefully, now the players are showing signs to adapting to Stuart Maynard we will continue to see these improvements on the field.

Yes @gtownjohnno Notts were coasting then lost four wickets for no runs to Smith, who took 3 wickets in an over, They need to try to grind another 50 runs in the morning if they are going to have a chance.

Day 4 has been delayed by rain overnight unfortunately.

There was an inspection due at 11am but the rain came again.

The weather forecast is sunshine and blustery showers.

After another bout of rain the Umpires have decided that no play will be possible today.

The Match ends in a draw.

Lets Enjoy yesterday's Win. I'm pretty sure Stuart Maynard is well aware of Notts short comings (and his own) and will be working on improving the playing system and his own performance in becoming a Full Time Coach, lets hope that things are starting to Fall into place and with an Excellent Recruitment strategy Notts will be able to push on. 

It's interesting to Note how many times the Recruitment team have been mentioned over the months since the appalling January window , therefore Richard Montague needs to get his Act together and sign Players that can do the job in League 2 and potentially League 1. And lets also hope Stuart Maynard will have a say in which players are signed, because it comes across as that he doesn't it seems the Recruitment team look at the data of a certain player and if he fits the Notts system then he's signed and Stuart Maynard can Like it or Lump it. Having a say in who's signed will also help Stuart Maynard Grow into his Role as Notts Head Coach.

This off season may be one of the Most Important down at the Lane in Recent Years and could map out the Magpies future as to weather Notts are going to be a Team that will be one of mid table obscurity or  one that can push on into playoff contention or even Automatic Promotion.

Delighted for the team, the fans and Mr Maynard. It's important for us as a club to have a positive end to the season and instill the belief that we can be looking upwards next season. And so what if it was a bit jammy? Luck tends to even itself out.

Notts started very brightly, looked comfortable on the ball and moved it around well. Defensively, we seemed organised and ready to cover wherever needed. Luca Ashby-Hammond did very well, as did Kyle Cameron and Aden Baldwin. Baldwin being the ball-playing defender, he looked very calm even when pressured and his decision-making when passing the ball was very good.

Dan Crowley is just a touch of magic, never worried about where he can go but will turn the opposition players inside out in order to make a good pass himself.

It was good to see us look for the forward pass, as when we did go backwards it wasn't frustrating or at the cost of being creative. Some of the long balls straight up to Alassana Jatta was a thing of beauty and almost worked, putting him straight through on at least two occasions.

There are a lot of comments about the players now wanting to perform better due to their contracts, I think this is weak excuses by those who can't give credit where it's due and simply a means to undermine the club - especially Stuart Maynard. Besides, if this was the case then all the fault on the defeats should fall down to the players instead of the manager, if they can turn it on and off. I fully disagree with these statements, as I feel it's hard work and finally things are working out better. You don't train and suddenly become better; it takes time. Walsall were very poor in the first half, and we simply outplayed them. Some of our fans need to learn to see the positives, it's a shame that we didn't get some of these results earlier, but it's football for you.

The biggest plus I saw, was hearing more fans sing at the end of the game to Stuart Maynard. Jodi Jones and Dan Crowley loved hearing their songs, but Maynard looked very emotional like it meant the world to him.

@Piethagoram I was sat right at the back of you, judging your pictures.

On the way to Walsall, Cal was watching the Newcastle vs Spurs game and when people say only we make howlers. The first two goals actually took some beating considering the level.

Aidan Baldwin will be glad to see the first goal.

We're always good for goals, we have been for a few seasons now. I've seen Notts teams where you wonder where a goal is coming from, so enjoy it while it lasts!

I'm glad Langstaff has proven himself at this level too. To be honest I was expecting a little more from McGoldrick, especially given how well he did last season. He's been dropped into the Rodders role and it's an awkward fit for him. I'd like to see us get Scott under contract for next season, I think he has what it takes at this level and our faith will be repaid.

I don’t think goals will be a problem, even if we lose Macca and JJ. It may even give us the chance to sign some proper wingbacks, rather than converted wingers.

Brindley isn’t good enough to be kept on, his positioning is awful, not physically big enough and never gets tight to his man. It should be a case of thank you for your years of service but we need better.  Defender wise, Cameron has another year as well as Chicksen so they will be kept on with Macari. Love Rawlo, but he is too old, too slow and not good enough, got to offload. Mahovo will also be here I think, so that’s four, bring in another four as first choice and we’re good to go.

Keeper situation is what worries me most, as we’ve got to try and offload Sam and Stone. That is not going to be easy and makes me wonder if they are trying to force Stone’s hand by making him 3rd choice.

We could be losing Macca and Jodi in the summer, I don't want them to go, and Notts need to offer Jodi a good 2 year extension on his contract.

But if they both decide that they want to play in a higher league, Jodi winning the league 2 player of the year award and him and Macca being included in the league 2 team of the season will have helped to increase both their values even more.

So it's a win win for Notts no matter what they both decide.

If I understood it correctly, all matches that fall outside the Saturday 3pm blackout (i.e. that would have been available in the UK on iFollow) will be broadcast live, so you should be able to watch the team as before. The question is whether there will be a match pass similar to iFollow, or whether Sky will gouge you for about 30 quid a month for it. Rupert Murdoch is not a philanthropist, all that money is coming from somewhere...

As for us exiles, things should stay broadly the same. But I wonder if we'll have Sky's commentators inflicted on us?

@DangerousSausage As I read it the club streaming service provided through Ifollow is being discontinued, but there needs to be clearer clarification of this.

Sky are pushing a non contract sky sports streaming service for £26 a month on a 6 month minimum term, but following live streaming of each club on a matchday for example, Notts matches, isn't mentioned.

Yes @Robbie thanks for the correction, I misread the sentence the 248 games will be broadcast over a period of 5 years! I thought they'd have done well to show to 248 games in one season!

Tuesday 12th March.

After tonight's round of matches Notts are now 10 points behind a possible playoff place with 10 games to go, so it is safe to say we won't make the playoffs this season.

Now it is all about finished the season as high up the league as they can.

Stockport and Wrexham have been promoted to League 1

Mansfield just need a point from their last three matches to gain automatic promotion too, because they have a vastly superior goal difference over MK Dons in fourth place.

Notts match Stockport for goals scored  so far and remain joint top scorers with Stockport with 86 goals,

How different things could have been this season for Notts, with just a little more luck in defence.

Congrats to Stockport and Wrexham, it’s probably better for us that they’ve gone up as they are the two biggest spenders in the league. And Mansfield’s promotion like you say is pretty much inevitable, again probably good for us as we always lose against them!

I still find it really strange to see the celebrations from people in North America that until about 3 years ago had never heard of Wrexham…

Wealdsone have games in hand of most of those at the bottom, but they are running out of time to complete them so, it will be tough for them.

Two of those games are Chesterfield at home and Oldham away, they have to play Eastleigh at home  and the only team near the bottom that they meet is Dorking at home and they are playing them tonight.

Three of their remaining four games are at home so it gives them at fighting chance.

Wealdsone were 0:2 down to Dorking early in the second half, but then scored 4 goals without reply winning 4:2.

Wealdsone were staring relegation in the face but they turned it round for a vital win.

Dorking are all but relegated now 

What a win by Wealdstone.

They are now just about safe from relegation.

You know the old saying @Wheelbarrow repair man, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.It's not the first time an idea or comment has been 'pinched' from. PoN and used elsewhere without acknowledgement .I don't suppose it will be the last time either.

The most annoying thing about it super_ram is these people can't come up with own articles and have to pinch them from others and on Top of That they Get Paid for it.

@Wheelbarrow repair man

It's sad that people & some professionals have to resort to plagiarise material from others.

It appears that it is plagiarism is rife on social media and it has been happening for as long as social media has existed.

We have great material here on PON with great articles &:posts mixed with great debate. Long may it continue.

If the professionals have to resort to getting ideas from us amateurs.

Who are really the amateurs?

Ohh Tommy Johnson my comment was made with tongue in cheek. And before Robots wouldn't Cybernetics come first ? Footballers with Cybernetic legs, Goalkeepers with telescopic arms. Defenders with telescopic necks  despite all the Cybernetic  Footballers will still have human brains, so Mistakes will be made.

I can see why they're using that information - a game can turn because of a poor refereeing decision or individual mistakes by players. How many managers have been sacked prematurely by panicked boards because of things they have absolutely no control over?

All the same, it's often forgotten that data and AI are tools and need people to manage and interpret them. I'm positive that our owners do this as well. If they only looked at statistics, Luke Williams - who at that time had a win percentage of 26% - would never have been appointed. Spotting players with unrealised potential is also a less exact science, for that you need know-how and contacts in addition to stats.

17 hours ago, Wheelbarrow repair man said:

Ohh Tommy Johnson my comment was made with tongue in cheek. And before Robots wouldn't Cybernetics come first ? Footballers with Cybernetic legs, Goalkeepers with telescopic arms. Defenders with telescopic necks  despite all the Cybernetic  Footballers will still have human brains, so Mistakes will be made.

I realised it was tongue in cheek, but it got me thinking that we are probably closer than we think to it. .. and that it would be very boring.

I agree @Wheelbarrow repair man 

There needs to be another way of sanctioning a club, a fine based on total turnover and a transfer embargo for at least a season or upwards depending on the amount of charges or the seriousness of the charges.

Fining the clubs and stopping their transfers would affect the points accumulation in time anyway.

If Man City were fined half a billion plus and the money distributed down the Football  pyramid, that would go down a treat with the smaller clubs.

Docking points just punishes the fans and the players when it is the Club administrators at fault.

Trouble is, I don't see it happening because in the Premier league, money talks and I don't think it would ever be passed by at least 14 of the PL clubs needed to change the rules. 

The issue here, talking in general terms, a team can overspend on its squad and therefore stay up...and a club that sticks by the rules gets relegated. 

Points deductions is the only fair way. 

Unless of course your Owners have an awful lot of Money to shall we say , offer "gifts" to the Football higher ups so they turn a blind eye on your over spending while not so rich Premier League Clubs suffer with  a points deduction and possible Relegation.

I hope you're right regarding the Brothers hold on the Purse Strings Robbie ( I'm sure you are) it's just  that I've seen to many of these Ideas men come into a business with all these promises of a Big Money Return for such and such investment only for the idea to  fail, and to many failures would see the Business Crumble. I'm Not saying Joe Palmer is one of these Wide Boys it's just I Personally  don't like the idea of to many projects going off all at once. Regarding the Nest his he hoping that Forest fans will also attend? Because personally I can't see the Fan Zone being supported financially by Notts fans alone. Will visiting fans be encouraged  to visit the Fan Zone? If so Security will have to be tight especially if Alcohol is being served. The Nest can hold up to 1,500 Fans but how many will have to attend regularly to make it a success? 500 a 1,000 or the full quota of 1,500?  I can't be the only Magpies Fan with worries hopefully the Club can be transparent with it's spending or give some idea and reassure Fans that Money is available and will cover the costs that will be required for all the Projects being presented. I for one wouldn't want to be throwing my loose change into a plastic bucket outside the ground or watch another Notts vs Forest match to help boost the Funds of the Club. 

I get what you are saying @Wheelbarrow repair man I think that all these improvements would have been costed and approved months ago, before they were announced.

I am sure there may be lots of questions for Palmer and Montague regarding all these projects and things may be much clearer to all of us afterwards.

I can't think that visiting supporters will be allowed in on Match Days because that could cause a security issue.

I'm really pleased about the plans for the ground improvements, and knowing that Notts won't have future problems with waterlogged and frozen pitches.

It's good to see some new investment in the infrastructure. I wouldnt be surprised if the club shop relocates within the Nest area. The Meadow Lane Sports bar then opens for away supporters only?