It's 80 years since the driving test became compulsory.

If you've taken a test did how many attempts did you take to pass? How many lessons did you have?

I passed first time but had to have lots of lessons, around 50 if memory serves me right. I had just met Mrs. H. and her last boyfriend had a car so I was determined to get one so I could taker out.

I was very nervous on my first lessons, I went to a driving school on Arkwright Street, the instructor used to take me down the Trent Embankment and even at 20 mph I was shaking like a leaf, I remember my instructor being very hard on me and telling me to get a grip on myself or I would never be able to drive.

When the day if the test finally came I was a lot more proficient although very nervous on the day, when the instructor told me I had passed I could have kissed him.

What are your memories.

Do you remain signed in when visiting PON?

I've wondered this a fair bit, as @super_ram always signs out no matter what. As I have been a member of numerous communities, I find that I very rarely do myself.

The only times I seem to remember is when I am doing changes to this site, I never log out of FB or anything like that.

So, what is your habit? Do you stay signed into PON? If so/not why?

happy birthday @tonyhateley

I didn't run a voting poll for this month folks, I decided to select it quietly and although I do enjoy seeing the community decide who deserves it the most (as this seems fair), I just felt that the decision would be best handled this way - at least for this month.

I'm pleased to see despite it being quiet around Notts and here, people are still visiting regularly + joining in when they can.

So, thank you for all your contributions, as always it's genuinely appreciated.

Also, I won't be posting any special mentions because this month it's been all about the community. By this I mean the regulars who visit and join in, even those with limited time for contributing. When you run any site, it's vital to see input from a wide range of people and we do have this here. It makes me feel extremely proud, so if you read this - you are credited for being apart of the success here.

Member of the Month - May

@magpiejue - I appreciate the help immensely from this lady, folks might not realize how much she contributes to the site but comments on FB, re-tweets on Twitter, any content I know she will tune into and it's only fair that I acknowledge this. Plus it's great to see her posting on the site, so thank you Julie. Congratulations for being PONs Member of the Month for May.

Social Contributor of the Month

Harrison 'Muzza' Holland and Richard Thompson, it's split for the first one. Both Harrison and John regularly get involved, they discuss/like and are very much apart of the online community in which we have. Congrats to both Harrison and Richard.

Please take the time to congratulate this months winner(s) folks!

You Pies!!

So where are people going/have gone this summer?

I'm going to be heading to Sunny Beach in Bulgaria. To say I'm looking forward to it is an understatement. If anybody else happens to be going there in July let me know and we can hit the bars!

It has been in the air for a while at meadow lane about ultras wanting to be there and i personnely think it is time we have them. Not ones that start fights and flair and HUGE flags, but clean ones who bring drums, a flag , have their own section and get the atmosphere going?

Let me know your thoughts please:)

Hello and welcome to PoN @Barry23.Please join in and enjoy.

If the name does not make you laugh, giggle or smile I will forgive you for not providing me with a friendly PON hello.

Yes, PopPie is a County fan and I have arrived here on the only PRIDE of Nottingham in existence. Any others are simply pretending, so what else can I say about myself? I guess you will have to wait to see.

U pies!!

So at the ripe old age of 27 I went to my first ever festival this month, No Tomorrow at Wollaton Park. Previously I'd never entertained the idea of festivals but this year I just thought "why not? It's a great excuse to get drunk in the afternoon, listen to some music and check out some of the, ahem, attractive ladies. And yeah, what a quality weekend it was. I'd go so far as to say it was the greatest weekend of my entire life.

So anyway, who's going to festivals this year, who's been, would you ever go if you haven't, and what about your festival memories? Spill the beans y'all!

Welcome to Pride of Nottingham @1862kane and @robw1862, please to have you both on board.

Would you mind telling us regulars a little about yourselves? Such as how long you have supported Notts for? I hope you like what you see and join in when time permits, we have a good growing community here and it's nice to have you among us.

You Pies!

I hate Skype, it sums all the things wrong with taking online today. I miss the freedom in which MSN Messenger had. Yahoo Messenger for me is just as bad as Skype.

Is chatting via messengers dead?

I just use Facebook to chat these days, its the only thing I am prepares to use. What about you?

Ray Trew has posted on the other forum regarding signings, sponsorships, the season ahead and back-room staff. Whilst I am against him engaging with fans in this way, what he said is interesting.\

 

 

We will announce this week, the biggest shirt sponsorship deal the club has ever signed. Its also probably a bigger deal than any League 1 club has including the big teams in that League. Money is in the bank.

 

 

There are number of players we are negotiating with both English and Foreign. There are two we have agreed terms with and are waiting there return from holiday to sign. Both are midfielders.

 

 

Ricardo wants quality not quantity so our squad be be between 23 and 25 players. We have agreed terms with 2 midfielders and are just awaiting there return from holiday for them to put pen to paper. We have made a very good offer to a Championship striker who would be our new Hughesy, but if he doesn't sign we have others lined up. We are in talks with two pacey wingers that can also score and hopefully in the next week or so we can finalise these deals. There are a number coming in for trial the first week we are back and these are various nationalities. On paper and video clips we have seen they look quality but Ricardo wants to see them in the flesh before he makes up his mind on them.

 Regarding pre-season home games:

 

 

Yes one you will like i am sure but i am sworn to secrecy by my wife right now. We have one more to sort out then all will be announced.

When asked if some players currently on the books will be leaving:

 

In a word, yes.

 

 

We are constructing one (a squad) behind the scenes. Once these have been released it will highlight our intentions and that is to bounce back at the first attempt.

In response to the following questions:

 

1) As best as can be guessed as to what other clubs will likely spend, how 'ambitious' can fans expect our playing budget to be this season? I.e., "best 18?" Top half? Top 6? etc.

Its hard to say right now but i anticipate we would have a Top Budget in this League. I will be certainly more than we had in League 1 because i want to get out at first attempt.

I know Pompey are splashing the cash, I think Orient will offload and with a warrant out for there owner there future looks grim. I am also told Luton intend spending big but time will tell.

2). What are some of the details of this 'transfer panel'? How is it structured, who will it consist of (if any changes are expected) and what is its relationship with the manager?

Let me begin by saying myself and Aileen have a great relationship with Ricardo and we will put on a fans forum at the start of the campaign so you can ask his this question directly.

Previously apart from the Budget, the manager has been responsible for all signings. We had muted to both Shaun and Greg thats is proven the more players you use, the worse you will do and this was borne out last season. So we decided before we appointed a new manager we would introduce a new system into the club. Not rocket science but i would like to say more accountability. We have a panel made up of Myself, CEO, Manager, Assistant Manager, Head of Recruitment and one other director (we rotate this). We do much more research that has previously been done, we look at videos from Wyscout and take into account his medical history. So far it seems to be working well and the manager is very happy with this process.

3). Can we expect any further changes at boardroom level, i.e. in its personnel makeup or in any other significant capacity?

Yes this week there will be an announcement of a new FD. We are still looking in expand the Board further but anyone joining us, has to bring a skill we dont have currently.

4). What will be our main footballing strategy going into the new season, and should fans expect it to adhere rigidly to a particular philosophy, or is the strategy to be more flexible? For example, do we intend to rely heavily on training and utilizing upcoming youth/young players? Should we expect a large or a lean squad? Are we mostly looking to uncover diamonds in the rough or going more for well known 'super stars' (in so far as there are at this level?)? etc. I.e. what's the footballing plan, and how rigidly should fans expect we'll stick with it?

The philosophy is simple. To entertain and attain promotion.

5. Are there any particular position we should expect to target a player of exceptionally good quality for this level? Or are there any positions we expect to provide with a significantly large amount of cover? E.g., it's been a while since we've had a super-star player the likes of Hughsie, and last season we were overrun with midfielders. Does the transfer panel and/or manager intend to bringing a supposed 'star' player for any particular position? Or does the manager seem to think that a particular position is the key to winning football (e.g. Curled often suggested that the midfield was most important).

Yes we are adding to the team what we would regard as 3 exceptional talents. 1 striker, 1 winger and 1 midfield (This player has agreed terms and i think when we announce his signing it will show our intent)

6. How much money does the club owe to Ray Trew and how much debt does it have to others?

It owes me very little because periodically i convert all the money i put in, into shares. Anyone Chairman thinking he will get his money back out if he keeps it in as loans is deluding himself. I dont know off the top of our head, but we have very little debt for a football club

7. Does the board have any intention of seeking any further outside investment and if so how? If not, why not?

My mind is very open to further investment. However, i have a mission to make this club sustainable so any monies raised by new investment would be spent on the infrastructure and not the team. By that i mean it is my intention to own our own training facility which can accommodate all our teams right up from U8's to the Pro team

8). While we have all moved on, a personal curiosity I have is why was Craig Short sacked? Aileen alluded on here at the time that there were important reasons other than what was going on on the pitch. What were those reasons she was talking about?

I have no idea what Aileen was alluding to. The fact is i thought we could go straight through League 1 and when results was going our way i acted. Yes in hindsight it is a regret of mine. That said there is no other manager i have regretted sacking, All were sacked in my opinion for justifiable reasons i.e. poor performances on the pitch

9) Why was Martin Allen sacked? Malc (fan liaison guy) said on here at the time that when fans found out what really happened we'd understand that he needed to be sacked, but we never really did find out anything other than rumours or here-say. What happened that was so controversial? Curiosity still keeps my interest on this one as well.

I dont want to say too much on this subject because myself and Martin remain friends. All i am prepared to say and this and i have said this to him personally so its not breaking confidences, Is he wanted to run the club from the very top down to the people who clean the stands.

10) how much was the transfer fee in selling Ben Davies? Davies claimed that Craig Short told him that the club was looking to sell him on early in the first year of the League 1 campaign, but as far as I recall theclubdenied that. What is the truth and figures of that transfer? And yes, we know that Davies asked for a transfer, but what were the behind-the-scenes events leading up to his request?

I can't remember to be honest. It was circa £250k plus add ons. We had no desire to sell Ben. In fact we were initially vehemently opposed to this as we didn't want to dismantle the squad. Ben handed in a transfer request its as simple as that

11). Notts have gone through an abundance of managers since Ray and Aileen bought the club. Given the lack of success thus far, and hopefully Moniz is the right man to have for the long-term, how has the club changed its strategy for recruiting a manager? In other words, where did we go wrong in manager recruitment in the past, how have these mistakes been corrected, and what criteria have the club identified as most important in selecting a manager and in its overall structure of manager recruitment?[

I signed Craig initially because i wanted to try something different. I didn't want a manager out of work because he is only out of work because he failed somewhere else.

I then signed Paul Ince followed by Martin Allen because both i thought had of this league. Sadly they didn't work out so i went outside of the box again with the others. It worked for other clubs...Nigel Adkins was Scunny's physio and look what he has done in his career, then you look at Eddie Howe and what he has achieved at Bournemouth and Burnley. I mention Burnley because whilst i like Shaun Dysche the team is Eddie Howes. So we wanted to do find a gem like these. It didnt work out so i have gone for a experienced manger this time and both my fingers and legs are crossed.
 

Ben Davies potential signing?

 

The reason we didn't go after Westcarr is that would be a step backwards and the manager thought he didn't have any pace, i am afraid the same applies to Ben. He hasn't played enough fist team football these past two seasons either.

Louis Laing signing?

 

 

No he is not. We have approached him but right now he wanting to play at a higher level subject to him getting a club. If he has not got a club by beginning of July he said we would speak again

Regarding the situation with Jones/Bajner/Thompson (now signed for Wycombe):

Did not answer question.

i think it would be a good time to start a drive towards getting friends on pon, many people i know seems to respond to the social pages but driving them onto here would be a good way to move forward.

so if you know anyone, recommend the website and the social pages.

i will tag everyone on my fb page to see if i can get them to join in. surely we can get a few more active people from this? seems worth the try to me.

Garry Thompson has signed for Wycombe.

Can't say I'm too disappointed, he's knocking on a bit and I would prefer a Spencer-Murray partnership up front, didn't really rate him on the wing. Plus, Moniz said he wants pace on the wings, and G Thompson does not offer that.

All the best for the future Garry. No doubt he'll score against us. 

http://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/news/article/robert-milsom-notts-county-rotherham-united-2478489.aspx#xW4mh8o6Dkb6rcKz.99

A midfielder from Rotherham, was on loan at Bury last season. Thoughts?

Just found this. Hope they weren't being sarcastic!

What a great deal by the Blues. If him and Costa start every game them will rip the league apart. He didn't perform at Manure but he's had a year to get settled with the league and if he goes to Chelsea he is going to be up front with a partner who he can score goals or fun with.

It will be the best close season signing imo if it goes through.

Welcome to PoN @therealnewarkpie and @mancpie.I hope hope you both enjoy your time with us.

I think I've only just noticed the Dashboard (unless I've seen it before and forgotten) but just wanted to say what a great addition it is to this site, well done @notts-joe this is another great feature to get the most out of the Pride of Nottingham.

1500 bras and knickers have been stolen from a shop in Germany.

http://www.morgenweb.de/mannheim/mannheim-stadt/einbrecher-holen-hoschen-und-bhs-1.2280807(Achtung - German)

Let's hope they're busted soon.

So, Ray mentioned this "Ricardo wants quality not quantity so our squad be be between 23 and 25 players. We have agreed terms with 2 midfielders and are just awaiting there return from holiday for them to put pen to paper. We have made a very good offer to a Championship striker who would be our new Hughesy, but if he doesn't sign we have others lined up. We are in talks with two pacey wingers that can also score and hopefully in the next week or so we can finalise these deals. There are a number coming in for trial the first week we are back and these are various nationalities. On paper and video clips we have seen they look quality but Ricardo wants to see them in the flesh before he makes up his mind on them."

Who do you think the two midfielders could be?

The interesting call, would perhaps be this 'Hughesy' like striker who's been offered a good deal. Any guesses on which 'Championship' striker this could be?

Also two pacey wingers have been approached, could one be Jenner?

What do you think? Let's speculate on this a little.

Welcome @martyn.malone, pleased to see you have joined buddy. Care to tell folks a little bit about yourself?

I think you will like our site, it takes some getting used to but its much like the Facebook page. I have tried to keep both as ways fans can relate too, so seeing another regular on FB make their way across, its fantastic. I hope you enjoy being a part of the PON community. You Pies!

Will we see more stability this upcoming season?

With all the changes, such as @erindoors taking over as the CEO, Damian Irvine's departure and of course Ricardo Moniz assembling much of his own squad, it makes me ponder if we will see more stability next season. Don't get me wrong, the foundations will always have to be accessed after relegation and I do personally think the footing for us will change into something more positive.

I am just trying engage what the current mood is and what the fans opinions are.

I wouldn't be so disheartened if next season we just focused on just rebuilding, provided we approached it in the sense of having a good go at League Two football. Under Moniz, we should see better football and on a more consistent level but I'm curious about how new players will settle, how much gates will impact the games, how much the background adjustments will take it's toll on the field. I'm not remotely worried but I very much want us to be a forward moving club and stability is the key.

If you read this, weigh up your gut feelings and join in the discussion.

Our roy playing for ireland in finland.......but no aki lahkinan for them.....

This is a great business idea for the guys who created it. It was truly loved when it was on TV and was a brill experience. Richard O'Brien made the show admittedly, but the fun of being actually involved is a great idea. I for one would love to go and be there shouting "grab the bloody crystal time is running out!"

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/news/a652625/the-crystal-maze-live-experience-is-coming-in-autumn-and-richard-obrien-is-involved.html#~pfA3SDHroD9NHG

The Crystal Maze. One of the all time fun tv programmes!

Just curious how many multi lingual pies we have in our community.

I assume @DangerousSausage can speak German. I can speak a little French thanks to our many trips to that country.

Anyone else admit to knowing another language?