A better way to browse. Learn more.
A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.
Match Discussion
League One
Meadow Lane, Nottingham
I said before the season started that we have to hope there are four sides worse than us and I was criticised for being negative, this season is going to be really tough if we can take points from the teams around us we’ll survive. I hope the players don’t lose confidence, losing can become a habit.
2
The midfield isn't creating much @Robbie, that's part of the problem. It wouldn't have mattered who played up front in the first half, they had nothing to work with. The wing backs are too deep, not enough players are taking a risk and going on a run and the front three are left high and dry. It's happened in several games already this season.
Admittedly the strikers haven't covered themselves in glory so far. But if it turns out that none of them can hit a barn door (and Kanu has a decent scoring record), we'll just have to select a big unit who can hold up the ball up front and get Roberts and Cooper into scoring positions instead. We need to get the best out of what we've got and we're not yet.
1
Imagine scoring a very "gifted" goal and then running to the opposition crowd, who are the home team, and starting arrogantly with silent gestures, cupping your ears and blowing them kisses. Mark Harris came across as very immature, and one of the worst attitudes from visiting players I have ever seen.
It wasn't even a good goal, so that allowance can't buy him any excuses.
That said, Oxford United are clearly a good team. I knew they would hit us on the counter and look to use their pace. From Notts' standpoint, we displayed defensive incapability and a certain awkwardness. Jacob Bedeau is at a stage where I would consider dropping him; Rod McDonald can be forgiven somewhat due to his return from a lengthy injury, but even he was extremely poor.
Why didn't we switch Lucas Ness into the middle, take off McDonald or Bedeau in favour of putting James Gibbons in the centre as I don't think at this level wider suits him, but he's a good defender. Ishé Samuels-Smith looked like a Sunday league footballer for most of the first half; the left and centre of our defence really weakened and disconnected us from having any real threat going forward.
Cal Roberts deserves so much praise for trying to calm the play and for taking on Oxford, well knowing he was going to get clattered because nobody else was looking over their shoulders or where the space opened up.
The substitutes helped, though I think persisting until the first half without addressing the back caused the real problems. I understand what Martin Paterson was trying to do; he wanted to give others a chance to come in while protecting those who had been given international caps, but it was the wrong opposition and a very bad call. They are clearly a good side, with a very capable Championship-level squad, and it just made Notts look as if they hadn't trained with each other at all in the first 45 minutes.
Conor Grant, for all he tried, just showed why some fans don't think he's good enough. It wasn't his best game, and in hindsight we might have been better off giving Daniel Kanu a strike partner or a closer shadow striker, maybe even Cal Roberts.
That said, some fans need to remember we are establishing ourselves and that mistakes like this will be learned from. If we started stronger, a real game could have been had, but unfortunately, Oxford were just way better than Notts.
4
I couldn't have planned it any better - round ten takes place on the tenth of the tenth...
Round: 10
Kick-off: Saturday 10 October, 3pm
Don't forget your joker!
Blackburn Rovers v Cardiff City
Middlesbrough v Wolves
Huddersfield Town v Sheffield Wednesday
Wycombe Wanderers v Luton Town
Bristol Rovers v Barnet
Cheltenham Town v Salford City
Hornchurch v Eastleigh
Tamworth v Barrow
The results:
Well done to @Michael D Pie. for winning this round - without any equestrian help either?
Overall, @Megan_Elizax and yours truly are now the joint leaders! I am now fighting the temptation to rename myself aaaStarkMallard and declare myself the winner on alphabetical order, but alas, I don't think I'd get away with it. Just five points separate the top five.
The next round is on Saturday, so keep your eyes peeled for the fixtures on Wednesday. There will be a delay counting the next two rounds as I'm taking the outrageous liberty of going on holiday, but I'll catch up eventually. Thanks for playing and take care!
1
1
Looks like I’ve got the Maynard effect, hit the top and then fall away to 6th 🙈🙈
13 hours ago, Paris Sandwich Man said: Looks like I’ve got the Maynard effect, hit the top and then fall away to 6th 🙈🙈
@Paris Sandwich Man it could be worse, I’m 2nd from bottom I reckon I’ve got the Harry Kewell effect. 😂
From the club website:
Our owners, Chris and Alex Reedtz, have issued a message to supporters on the eve of our 2026-27 Sky Bet League One season-opener against Leicester City.
Before embarking on a new and exciting chapter in the club’s history, we’d like to reflect on the campaign that saw us secure promotion to League One.
We thank Martin Paterson, his staff and players for their efforts which culminated in an unforgettable day at Wembley, where the team’s outstanding performance and our supporters’ amazing backing were duly rewarded.
As is the nature of football, we’ve since bid farewell to several members of our promotion-winning side – but we thank them all for playing their part in the club’s progress and wish them well in the next steps of their careers.
Following the celebrations, we immediately began preparing for life in League One – a level which not only presents a step-up in the quality of opposition but also significantly increased costs, with average financial losses in the division rising to £7.3m last season.
When planning for a new season, we always aim to strike a balance between being ambitious and responsible. We want to be successful on the pitch – but only in a way that keeps the club’s losses under control, safeguards its long-term security and avoids exposure to tighter financial rules in the future.
Therefore, as well as supporting Joe Palmer and his team’s excellent efforts in driving increased off-field revenues, we have to keep player-related costs at a sustainable level.
We achieve this by using a data-led recruitment approach which identifies strong players who fit our footballing and financial strategy and who we believe can develop further with us, while also occasionally deciding to sell players when we believe it will help us improve the squad as a whole.
This approach, which has been crucial to our past successes and the ongoing development of the club, has led to a busy summer transfer window with 12 new signings arriving at Meadow Lane. While there’s potential for further additions, we’re confident that we’ve built a squad capable of competing at League One level and will only act if the right deals present themselves.
Nevertheless, we respect that we will be competing with several big clubs this season – and it’s therefore important that we all - fans, staff and players - continue to stick together and relish the challenges that lie ahead on the next stage of our journey.
In closing, we would like to reaffirm our long-term commitment to driving the club’s continued progress up the pyramid. We have total belief that our processes, which are being refined and improved every season, can support further growth and success in the years ahead.
We hope you thoroughly enjoy tomorrow’s occasion and all the excitement that follows. COYP!
Chris and Alex
2
I love our owners, they’ve given us a club to be proud of and it’s been a long time since we’ve been able to say that.
1
It's nice that they keep themselves to themselves and just allow the club to be run by whom they pay to do it. We have benefited from Football Radar, I don't think it's just the work on the pitch or the facilties being improved. It's the overall sensible approach that just allows us to scale up as we establish ourselves.
There are heaps that go on within a football club, much of which nobody thinks about from ground staff to other areas.
Notts is operating very well, much to the credit of Chris and Alex. Promotion comes off the back of hard work, and that goes for all involved.
1
On 06/09/2026 at 18:56, Chris said: It's nice that they keep themselves to themselves and just allow the club to be run by whom they pay to do it. We have benefited from Football Radar, I don't think it's just the work on the pitch or the facilties being improved. It's the overall sensible approach that just allows us to scale up as we establish ourselves.
There are heaps that go on within a football club, much of which nobody thinks about from ground staff to other areas.
Notts is operating very well, much to the credit of Chris and Alex. Promotion comes off the back of hard work, and that goes for all involved.
I couldn’t agree more @Chris I heard our owners described as “penny pinching fraudsters” by a fan yesterday. I really do despair of some fans they are embarrassing to say the least.
2
Good morning everyone I hope you are all tickety-boo and raring to go?
My search for a new car is over, I’ve put a deposit on an Electric Citroen c3 Aircross, it was a no brainer, only one year old, 2,500 miles on the clock an ex mobility vehicle with 7 years of manufacturers warranty left. I pick it up tomorrow, very excited.
I just need to sort out a wall charger in the garage but with the low mileage we do I don’t anticipate charging it up much.
Well that’s my news, what is everyone else up to?
2
I think this is what happened, mixed bag for our lads.
Sierra Leone lost both games. Kanu didn't score. Mustapha withdrew from the squad with an injury, hope it clears up quickly.
Cyprus - 7 pts from 4 games. Tsaraoulla made his senior debut which is great for him. Started once and two sub appearances (was suspended for one game). Two assists (both for Burnley's Marcus Edwards), two yellow cards and conceded one penalty. Cyprus just need a draw at home to Armenia next month to progress.
Ireland U21 - won both games and have a chance of qualifying for the U21 Euros play-offs. They need to beat England today in their last game. Finneran started both games and Lipsiuc was used as a sub in one.
UPDATE Ireland U21s 3 England 1 so they're into the November play-offs. Finneran played the whole match and got an assist. Lipsiuc played the last half hour. England had already won the group so a good time to play them.
2
1
And none of the players injured on international duty either, so that's another bonus!
It has felt like a long break but I hope it has been beneficial in terms of training and getting players fit though because fixture wise we’ve lost a couple of more winnable matches, I know football isn’t played on paper but the Peterborough and Blackpool matches were definitely ones that you’d target some points from. Now we’re coming back after the break against a team that were in the Championship last season, not easy.
3
I noticed someone had posted on Facebook that Nick Tsaroulla had created an assist for Cyprus; it's great to see him getting selected, and it's a good thing for his development. Playing on the international stage is great experience, even at 27. Pleased to see our other internationals being given a run out too.
1
On 07/10/2026 at 22:48, menzinho said: And none of the players injured on international duty either, so that's another bonus!
It has felt like a long break but I hope it has been beneficial in terms of training and getting players fit though because fixture wise we’ve lost a couple of more winnable matches, I know football isn’t played on paper but the Peterborough and Blackpool matches were definitely ones that you’d target some points from. Now we’re coming back after the break against a team that were in the Championship last season, not easy.
I'd very much take a point today. And 0-0 would be a bonus .
Brunt is on an incredible assists tear - 13 games in, 14 assists for Boreham Wood, runaway NL leaders
24 now, 25 in a month I wonder if an EFL club can prize him away in January. Chesterfield would make sense as he fits their style and was born there.
He wasn't good for us 4 years ago, and not a position of need. Also NL to L1 in one jump could leave a player looking off the pace
1
I think it just shows how there is a undetermined amount of time when it comes to player development. Our recruitment model clearly saw the talent there, it was just he needed more time and he's had that at Boreham Wood.
You don't need a in-depth recruitment model when players have that number of assists he'll be on the radar of most clubs, I suspect a side like York or Salford with more money than most might put a bid in come January.
1
5
The third of October is German Unity Day. It's also a bank holiday, which makes it doubly annoying that it falls on a Saturday. To celebrate the day, here's a "wall" of fixtures...
Round: 9
Kick-off: Saturday 3 October, 3pm
Don't forget your joker!
Burton Albion v Huddersfield Town
Leyton Orient v Plymouth Argyle
Crewe Alexandra v Bristol Rovers
Gillingham v Newport County
Rochdale v Swindon Town
Eastleigh v Woking
Hartlepool United v Tamworth
Kidderminster Harriers v Sutton United
Saturday's results:
Well done to this week's winners @Megan_Elizax and @menzinho! And an honourable mention too to @cheeky~k8 and Diesel the horse, who definitely deserves a sugar lump from his assistant @Michael D Pie..
There's change at the top - @ARLukomski overtakes @Paris Sandwich Man and @Megan_Elizax moves into second! But things have really tightened at the top.
The next round is on Saturday, so keep your eyes peeled for the fixtures on Wednesday). Thanks for playing and keeep dancing!
1
1
Had a week of Maynard and Williams results 🙈🙈🙈
The future weds at the top @Megan_Elizax 🫶
1
2
I must admit I did feel a bit sorry for the kids, they came to see their heroes play for the national team and were treated to that sh#t show. The Croatians were embarrassingly bad and England were immense.
1
I agree @Fan of Big Tone , that probably will have warped their perception of their national side, put some poor kids off football for life!
Considering their defence had Premier League and Bundesliga players I was shocked at how poor they were, the 4th goal just before half-time was like watching Sunday league football. England were very good though, sometimes you see a big win and it's not always warranted but the 7-0 was a fair-reflection.
Even with 0-7 away wins I'll struggle to get back into England while Tuchel's in charge
Good morning, a new week beckons, I hope everyone is well, the nights are really getting noticeably longer now October will soon be on us.
We saw our son in the marathon yesterday at Wollaton Park he was very pleased with his time of under 2:20. He did really well. We also saw several runners in Notts County shirts and gave them a “YOUPIES” as they passed.
I wish I’d have started running when I was younger, I struggle with 5k now and at the moment I can’t run because of a problem with my eye. The jolting could make a bleed at the back of my eye worse so I’ll have to be content with a brisk walk.
Here’s our son at the half way stage.
3
2
Not good, I hope it's more of a one-off issue than something that spirals because if the ownership have basically given up they will be in trouble.
I know they've had to reduce their budget but the biggest loss has been that core management group that served them so well, after Mike Williamson left they still had his coaches in Elliott and then Magnay who became the managers and kept them comfortably a top-half team.
1
Thanks for sharing this @Piethagoram. I've watched a lot of Regionalliga football and follow a club that missed out on promotion to the third division after finishing as champions, so I've experienced it for myself.
The problem is a lack of a proper pyramid system - five divisions feed into a 20-team third division, which cannot work. The nationwide third division itself is quite a recent creation; it and the four regional divisions below it were managed by the German FA (DFB). The trouble was that B teams of Bundesliga clubs play in the league system as well, so the regional fourth divisions became swamped with them - I remember the majority of the teams in the southern division being B teams one season.
In about 2011 a fifth regional Regionalliga was added and (crucually) new regional bodies were created to administer each Regionalliga. Bavaria got its own Regionalliga despite the region having very few fourth division clubs previously. As a result, virtually the whole of the Bavarian fifth division was promoted to Regionalliga level, including village clubs.
The solution chosen initially was that there would be no automatic promotion to the third divison - the top two of the south-western division (as by far the largest league in terms of member clubs) played the champions of the other four divisions in two-legged play-offs to determine who would be promoted. Waldhof failed three times, I was there.
The Regionalliga bodies have been at loggerheads with one another ever since. A few years ago a new system was adopted in which the western and south-western division got automatic promotion spots and two of the other three leagues faced a play-off. The north-east like to play the victim here, but the reason why there are so many well-supported clubs from that region playing at the fourth level is that they haven't managed to establish themselves further up, whereas those from the west and south-west generally do establish themselves and often go on to greater things, Elversberg being a recent example. Clubs promoted from the north and Bavaria usually go straight back down.
Even the compass model is a sticking plaster. The problem ultimately won't be solved until a fourth division north and south is established - then every champion and runner-up can go up and clubs can progress up (and down) the pyramid.
1
Terrible news, my heart goes out to his friends and family. 😢
Unlike Ian Burchnall, I think it would be a huge shame if Luke Williams didn't see this as a sign that he could do wonders if he had longer in charge of a club. I don't think this is likely to happen all that high up the English pyramid, Peterborough United, after Swansea City was almost a golden opportunity for him.
Going into coaching again would be a significant sign of accepting that he's not ready for management.
I think we could all agree that Williams does have managerial material in him, whereas Burchnall seems like an exceptional coach and nothing more. At least this is how I would compare the two, even Stuart Maynard has managerial qualities and York City did him dirty after he got them back into the English Football League.
2
It's very harsh so early in the season, but Peterborough will have had other ambitions than a relegation fight. We all know what a brilliant job LW did for us, but he had a very good foundation to build on and he lucked out with Langstaff joining us in particular. His CV hasn't been that great before or since, but Swansea and Peterborough were much tougher gigs. He should think about his next club carefully - if his next club is willing to let him build and be patient, it'll pay off.
1
Really interesting. Actually looks like football at this point. What the likes of Notts, Sheffield and Hallam played in the early days I doubt we'd recognise as the same sport.
Good morning it’s a bright start here and temperatures are expected to reach 20 degrees today which ain’t too bad for late September, I expect it’s warmer in Lanzarote eh @Michael D Pie. ?
Yesterday I had a nice chat on the phone with my old sparring partner @super_ram it was lovely to catch up with him and he promises to come on here more often.
Later we went to our sons for a few board games and a nice meal of roast beef and all the trimmings, followed by our daughter in laws famous brioche bread and butter pudding. Yummy.
I’m not sure what today has in store, maybe a bit of gardening,
1
Sad about two Notts-free weekends? The prediction league knows no international break and is here to soothe your woes.
Round: 8
Kick-off: Saturday 26 September, 3pm
Don't forget your joker!
Cambridge United v AFC Wimbledon
Wycombe Wanderers v Reading
Fleetwood Town v Rochdale
Rotherham United v Crewe Alexandra
Shrewsbury Town v Colchester United
Altrincham v Hornchurch
Scunthorpe United v Hartlepool United
Sutton United v Florist Green Rovers
Cambridge United 2-0 AFC Wimbledon
Wycombe Wanderers 0-1 Reading
Fleetwood Town 1-2 Rochdale
Rotherham United 3-1 Crewe Alexandra Joker
Shrewsbury Town 1-0 Colchester United
Altrincham 0-0 Hornchurch
Scunthorpe United 2-1 Hartlepool United
Sutton United 0-1 Florist Green Rovers
The results:
@super_ram has once again shown us how it's done and won the round, and well done to @ARLukomski! But this round was a bit tougher generally and we saw our first "nul points" of the season...
Overall, @Paris Sandwich Man remains top, two points ahead of @ARLukomski while @super_ram has a big jump up the table. And just look at the football genius in third place!
Thanks for playing, and thanks especially to the teams too crap to have Sierra Leone internationals for enabling this round to go ahead. The next round is on Saturday, so I'll scrape together enough fixtures and post them on Wednesday. See you then!
3
1
Seems like Normal service has been resumed 🤦🏻♂️
Who can forget the slug celebration. 
He even dug out his slug celebration a few weeks back!
It's his second season there now. He could probably play higher, but presumably he's got a proper job now.
1
The club have announced that it's being revived.
https://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/news/2026/september/23/heritage--hof---dedicated-match/
Who would you add to it? Possibles for me:
Mike Edwards - 349 appearances and a promotion
Neil Warnock - back to back promotions to the top flight
Jodi Jones - two promotions and that Wembley performance (he might not be ready to accept just yet though!)
Edit - maybe the Anglo Italian cup winning team. Won an actual trophy in the days when we had cup runs!
I can't think of anyone else. A few others have made their mark e.g. Langstaff but I think there's got to be some longevity to it with players if not with managers.
2
My precondition to be a Hall of Famer is longevity as well as contributing to our success
I think Brian Stubbs should be my number one contender. He played all his playing career at Notts and helped the club go from the fourth to the first Division.
David Needham would be my 2nd choice, him having a long defensive partnership with Brian during our glory years of the late 60s & 70sI think it may be difficult for modern footballers to get into the hall of fame because there is no longevity in the game nowadays.
Maybe in a few years Macaulay Langstaff's name might come up due to his record goalscoring feat for the number of games he played.
8 hours ago, Mapperley Pie said: George Smith. Proper goalie 😆
Blooming eck @Mapperley Pie I thought I was the only one old enough to remember George Smith!
May I also propose a concurrent Hall of Shame
Hackworth-less
Roos
Agana
Guy Branston
Ben Burgess
🤣
Pride of Nottingham uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. To approve, simply continue using the site or click 'I accept' Terms of Use.
