A few opinions from MK Fans...

"Despite us being utterly woeful, I thought they were brilliant. By far the best team to come to StadMK this season. Their movement and passing was tearing us apart and it looked easy for them. Our players should be embarrassed about how the Notts players made them look."

"They were superb until the final third. Should've been 6"

"I don’t think we have ever been dominated as much that in L2 in Le Stad. Outside of Crawley in the Play-offs, that was the worst I have seen us at home in this division."

Got to get Cheltenham Town fans saying the same thing on Sunday now!

i felt a bit disappointed with the attention some of our fans gave aaron nemane, players move on and if anything i felt it could backfire on us what with the score remaining level going into the second half. i thought it was a decent game, a lot of comments near to me suggest we have no fire power but we are relying on the strikers a lot and without rest. i was pleased when george abbott took his moment, it was a very well taken goal and the second half was a brilliant display from us.

18 hours ago, liampie said:

i felt a bit disappointed with the attention some of our fans gave aaron nemane, players move on and if anything i felt it could backfire on us what with the score remaining level going into the second half.

I really don’t know why fans boo ex-players and as you say @liampie very often it can backfire (Nemane or Nemarnay as the commentator insisted on calling him) was an excellent player for us, fans should be applauding him not booing.

Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Sunderland

Bristol City 0-1 Luton Town

Huddersfield Town 2-0 Stockport County (joker)

Rotherham United 1-1 Wigan Athletic

Carlisle United 0-0 Morecambe

Walsall 3-1 Doncaster Rovers

Altrincham 1-0 Halifax Town

Maidenhead United 0-1 Wealdstone

FYI, I'll post the scores for this one tonight once I've counted them.

Your Boxing Day scores:

Blackburn Rovers 2-2 Sunderland
Bristol City 1-0 Luton Town
Huddersfield Town 1-0 Stockport County
Rotherham United 0-1 Wigan Athletic
Carlisle United 0-1 Morecambe
Walsall 2-0 Doncaster Rovers
Altrincham 0-0 Halifax Town
Maidenhead United 3-1 Wealdstone

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Congrats to this round's winner @Dan!

@Dan - 11
@Robbie - 8
@4everapie, @menzinho, @super_ram - 7
@ARLukomski - 6
@magpiejue, @Megan_Elizax, @william1984 - 5
@nottsnutter - 4
@DangerousSausage - 3
@cheeky~k8, @gtownjohnno - 2
@Fan of Big Tone - nul points

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After 22 rounds, there is no change in the top six, with @super_ram still leading. @Dan leaps up into seventh:

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Our next fixtures are online already and will be played on Sunday 29 December. See you all over there!

I think Notts made the right choice by appointing Stuart Maynard. 

Notts has a coach that can rebuild a failing team & make it competitive once again. 

Not many Managers/ Head Coaches can claim to be able to do that nowadays.

Carlisle are doomed! Classic error of switching play-styles in the middle of the season. They've gone from direct under Simpson, to possession under Williamson (or are at least trying too!) It was like us with Nolan to Kewell, utter disaster.

No-one can say for certain what would've happened if Mike Williamson had joined us instead but I'm glad we ended up with Luke Williams! I heard he wasn't too keen on our recruitment style, I think he wanted more control. I find it very strange to be honest because this recruitment team has provided our coaches with some really good players over the years, better than any induvial manager has done in previous seasons.

if carlisle were higher in league two, i think they could afford mike williamson time but i think his appointment will go down as the wrong time to appoint someone like him. williamson did not look very capable of moving mk dons forward, despite a good team and i think it shows how desperate carlisle were when looking to appoint him. you cant rely on quick fixes in football, but i wish him well because its a difficult scenario to go into.

18 hours ago, Piethagoram said:

If my memory serves me correctly, didn't Ray Trew sell Jack Bearne in the last days of his tenure ( December 2016)

Jack Bearne signs first professional Liverpool FC contract - Liverpool FC

WWW.LIVERPOOLFC.COM

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Jack Bearne has signed his first professional contract with Liverpool FC.

Yes, correct. Ray Trew sold Bearne. Donga He and Kion Etete were both sold by Alan Hardy.

I do hope the lad manages to make use of his time at Liverpool, and forge an EFL career because it's lost potential otherwise.

@Chris It's a shame that in time of financial strife, we have sold our youth assets, Bearne, He, Etete

It's a shame how it's worked out for Jack Bearne, he probably would've been much better off staying with us. Chances are he'd have progressed into our first-team, breaking into a League 2/National League team is a hell of a lot easier then at Liverpool which will have been ultra-competitive.

Strange how it works for some players though. Kion Etete is doing just fine and currently playing for Cardiff.

Is any manager getting dizzy getting on and off the manager merry go round? 

A good appointment, Fleetwood will be difficult to break down

I thought Matty Platt was class in defence, with Jacob Bedeau also being a big part in the performance too. Alex Bass did well in goal, but his distribution was questionable. I don't think Alassana Jatta deserves the Man of the Match. I thought he was good but nowhere near the level of others put in. David McGoldrick played a good role in what made us dig deep and take the game to Bradford. Without him relentlessly trying to get us to play forward, instead of passing out at the back we wouldn't have scored any of the goals. Dan Crowley also played well in spells, but not quite to the level we tend to expect from him.

All the squad put in a good performance though; it was great to see Jatta score twice - he could have had 3 quite easily.

Just a gentle reminder to members.

The poll will close at 9pm tonight.

The Poll is now closed.

Thank you to all that voted.

I am pleased to announce that the Pride of Nottingham's Man of the match, for his outstanding performance against Bradford, is Alassana Jatta 

Well done Alassana.

So we are now very close to the start of the season. Stuart Maynard has nine new players to work with.

He also has two more players that have recovered from long term injuries 

So Stuart has 11 players that he has never managed in a league game. That's half the squad.

So Stuart now owns the squad. The ghost of Luke Williams has finally departed. There are no longer any excuses. Stuart Maynard now has to deliver. 

The pre season games where the new players have figured have been somewhat dissapointing.

Stuart has the decide, which players are in the starting eleven in the first match against Tranmere.

He also has to decide how Notts will line up. Will it be a back three with wingbacks or a traditional back four?

Will he have a three or four man midfield, two strikers or just one?

Lots of questions to be answered.

One thing is certain, Stuart has to mould this squad into a cohesive unit that will be competitive this season. Will he be successful or not. The first half a dozen games should reveal all.

12 games please.

Stuart played things perfectly against Bradford. Tactically he got it spot on, by putting Dan Crowley alongside Didzy & just behind Jatta.

Also using conventional wingbacks instead of inverted Wingbacks was spot on too.

Burnley 3-1 Watford Joker

QPR 1-2 Preston North End

Blackpool 1-3 Stevenage

Northampton Town 0-0 Charlton Athletic

Chesterfield 2-2 AFC Wimbledon

Morecambe 0-3 Bromley 

Hartlepool United 2-0 Yeovil Town

Wealdstone 1-3 Dagenham & Redbridge

Burnley 2-2 Watford

QPR 1-0 Preston North End

Blackpool 1-0 Stevenage

Northampton Town 1-2 Charlton Athletic

Chesterfield 2-0 AFC Wimbledon

Morecambe 0-1 Bromley 

Hartlepool United 2-0 Yeovil Town

Wealdstone 0-3 Dagenham & Redbridge joker

Our jolly Christmas scores:

Burnley 2-1 Watford
QPR 2-1 Preston North End
Blackpool 0-0 Stevenage
Northampton Town 0-5 Charlton Athletic
Chesterfield 1-0 AFC Wimbledon
Morecambe 0-2 Bromley
Hartlepool United 2-1 Yeovil Town
Wealdstone 3-0 Dagenham & Redbridge

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Strutting around at the top of this round's standings like conquering gladiators are meeeeee and @4everapie with 12 magnificant points!

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Overall, @super_ram has overtaken @Robbie again and will spend Christmas in top spot. Meanwhile, yours truly is now in a Champions League place and @Megan_Elizax has moved into the top five.

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There is of course football on Boxing Day, so expect the prediction league fixtures to be posted at some time today. Thanks for playing and making this a bumper Christmas round, and hopefully I'll see you there!

The football Manager merry-go-round continues. The race for success and making money continues.

How long before we see a change at Swansea, where Luke Williams is under pressure?

Lost his first match in charge 0:4 although I suppose.

Ruben wasn't in the first 11. Checked and he's been substitute 5 times this Season. Is he not the preferred attacking midfielder at the moment? If not Notts can always take him back on loan.

4 hours ago, Robbie said:

Ruben wasn't in the first 11. Checked and he's been substitute 5 times this Season. Is he not the preferred attacking midfielder at the moment? If not Notts can always take him back on loan.

He's started 16 games and been on the bench five times, so he's very much a regular. It'll be interesting to see if the new man rates him, but if not I think he'll find a club in League One bare minimum.

@chris. 

Did Abbott have a reasonable game from your standpoint? I always check on ratings for the Notts players post game & according to those, he didn't figure too high this time.

Nice summing up here????

A great and deserved result. More of the same please!

The three-goal blast in the first half put what had been a pretty even game to bed. Bradford were more in control in the second half, but for all their huffing and puffing it was Notts who came closer to scoring again. Fistly through McGoldrick's shot - the Bradford defence just opened up beautifully for and invited the shot, I only realise afterwards that Jatta was arriving at the far post. I don't blame him for having a crack. And secondly Jatta's scuffed effort, with the backspin on the ball stopping it from crossing the line. But we were already 3-0 up by that stage.

Crowley oozed quality and Austin worked incredibly hard (him winning possession led to our third goal). I don't think Abbott stood out as much purely because the rest of the team stepped up. And we definitely got the better deal from the Platt/Baldwin swap!

23 hours ago, Chris said:

I have seen Notts get battered away to Rotherham United sat in the home end, and never dreamt of leaving.

Well no, you would have been pretending to enjoy yourself ????

Bit harder for the younger fans to compile a list of their greatest Notts managers... ???????? 

Ian Burchnall and Keith Curle get into my top 5 by default!

On 02/02/2024 at 01:25, Robbie said:

For me it shouldn't be on win percentage, I believe it should be judged by your success by getting promoted & winning Cups.

If it were judged purely on that my choice would be.

1 Jimmy Sirrel.

2 Neil Warnock .

3 Tom Harris. FA Cup Winner.

4 Albert Fisher.

5 Eric Houghton.

6 Horace Henshall.

7 Sam Allardyce.

8 Frank Hill.

9 Steve Cotterill.

10 Howard Kendall.

This is interesting. If we're judging on the basis of honours, number one would have to be the manager who led us to FA Cup victory, the first time a second division club had ever won it. Obviously none of us were there to see it, but it's our club's only major honour and our greatest achievement. Nothing else comes close. But as @menzinho says, anyone under 40 doesn't have a lot to choose between as we've managed nothing more than two fourth division titles since 1990. If we ever manage to do a Bournemouth, maybe this list will feel a bit less historical.

As for Howard Kendall - if the question is "best Notts County managers", nope! He was a big-name appointment who just ended up speeding up our tailspin towards the lower division and didn't even last the season.

But if the topic was "best managers ever to have managed Notts County", you'd probably have to include him because of his achievements before he came to us. But then you'd also have to include Hans Backe and Howard Wilkinson for their title-winning exploits too.

I think winning the FA Cup was a great achievement @DangerousSausage, however taking a club from the fourth to the first tier like Jimmy did has to make him the number one.

Neil Warnock got Notts from the third tier to the first so he has to come second with FA Cup winner, Tom Harris third.

But that's just my opinion. Others may disagree with the rest of my list, & any of those managers could have been in different places on that list.

The loan period being extended is good for Ryley & good for Notts. Seems he doing an excellent job for Kidderminster.

Hope he can help them get promoted.

Yep, it's much better for him to get lots of game time than the odd couple of minutes he'd likely get with us at the moment. He's in a team challenging for promotion, that will give him the added experience of playing under pressure too.

I wonder if the loan period is successful, whether Kidderminster would sign Ryley permanently?

Well we have finally come to the shortest day and the winter solstice. It also happens to be the first day of winter, but Autumn was bad enough wasn't it 

Had an early start this morning going to the superstore to get  some last minute goodies that the wife needed to get us over Xmas.

It's certainly a different atmosphere compared to last week post match. It's a nice feeling that Notts played so well this afternoon. 

I'm so pleased for Stuart Maynard who has taken a lot of stick on social media this week. Him and the team had the perfect response today.

MK Dons got hammered today & we meet them on boxing day. 

Morning all I trust we are all full of joy after the nice early Christmas present from Notts yesterday.

I was glad to wake up in the middle of a pretty nasty dream this morning, I hate dreams like that I’m so glad it wasn’t real.

Our trip to the observatory yesterday was a bit different, we were shown to a small cinema with seats that lie back and the screen covers the whole ceiling, the film was very weird with coloured lights and shapes wizzing round the screen set to a modern take of Gustav Holst’s Planet Suite. The second part was a wander through space and a talk about the planets and stars. This trip has apparently been recommended to grandson Fred by his teacher. We all thought it was a very different experience but good, it certainly got the kids talking.

Its going to be cold today so wrap up if you are going out to do last minute shopping.

Good morning Notts fans. What a difference a football match can make with such a positive result and the way it was done.

Weather outside doesn't match the mood. It's been raining all night. Flood alert for Mansfield in force too.

But it's nice & warm & cosey inside, so the plan is to take it easy & watch a few Xmas films with the wife today.

David talked about the dissapointing result against Salford, & his determination to put things right on Saturday.

David  agreed that the match against Bradford on Saturday is very important.

According to David, the players are fully behind Stuart Maynard & that all the players are determined to put things right, & get a much needed win for the Club, going into this vital Xmas period.

And he did put it right against Bradford & so did the team, ablely managed by Stuart Maynard.

It's always a good sign when the players are behind a manager, or head coach in our case now! I think the culture we have at Notts means this should be a thing of the past for us, every player knows what they are signing up for in terms of playing style when they sign for us.

We've seen it countless times before when players just give up and are no longer inspired or believe in the managers' tactics.

It sounds very "woke" to me, probably some generation z thought he could rebrand it.

I wished people would stop messing with football, and making changes which solely further ruin the game.

11 hours ago, Chris said:

It sounds very "woke" to me, probably some generation z thought he could rebrand it.

I wished people would stop messing with football, and making changes which solely further ruin the game.

Hear Hear.

I don't feel very woke today, probably because I got five hours' sleep last night.

This seems more a hopeful, hubristic punt by Real Madrid than anything serious. They've already downgraded their ambitions to replacing the Champions League. And they're clearly running out of names too - whatever next? The Utter Division? The Mega League? The Europa Blue Square Conference (actually we almost have that one already)?

The idea that they'll bring in more money through free streaming than with the huge Champions League contracts already in place also seems overly optimistic to me. Not that I've got much love for the CL as it is now.

As new EU legislation makes it difficult for UEFA to stop this in its tracks, they'll likely just call the clubs' bluff instead. I doubt many will want to sacrifice the Champions League riches for the sake of a vanity project.

On 17/12/2024 at 19:29, Robbie said:

There could also be a new competition. The British Cup, where the top four clubs of the English, Scottish, Welsh, & N Irish top leagues play each other in a knock out home & away to find a British Champion.

Slightly OT, but surely the English champion would win every time? But I've always liked the idea of merging the English and Scottish League Cups. Could add some interest to a tired competition. Away day in Edinburgh anyone?

Thank you  @Robbie,and a merry Christmas to you, your family and all my other friends here on Pride of Nottingham.

Merry Christmas from Norway ☃️

It gets earlier every year! But happy Christmas to you all in advance

Every language goes through a linguistic evolution over time. I would have thought the German language is no different.

Lots of languages have influences from other languages. 

The full stop, and semi colon are familiar to the majority of written languages, why not the apostrophe?

If you listen to the Indian languages such as Urdu, there are lots of English words incorporated into that language.

English, has become the World language of choice, so there is no surprise that English influences will spread into different European languages, such as German.

I also think social media will push linguistic evolution around the World at an ever increasing rate. You even hear the occasional English word in Chinese, Japanese & Korean when they speak.

Yeah, we discussed this at work a while back. It doesn't really make a lot of sense as it can be used in the context of shop and business names but not in ordinary speech - so Rosi's Bar is now correct, but Rosi's Familie is still wrong although the apostrophe denotes ownership in both cases. Make it make sense.

Another problem is how it is used. Many Germans who love to drop in Anglicisms often do so incorrectly. Most also have no idea where the apostrophe key is on keyboards - on German keyboards it's on the hashtag key, but the key to the left of the backspace has something that looks very much like an apostrophe. However, it's actually used for French accents. So many people here would write Rosi´s Bar instead of Rosi's Bar (trust me, it looks pig ugly when you're not writing on a forum).

All languages evolve @Robbie, but many of the "evolutions" in Germany are decided by a committee in a pretty arbitrary and wrong-headed way. One example is gender-neutral nouns, which are normally used in the plural. The problem is that the female form is slightly different - the male form of "the student" is "der Student", while for women it is "die Studentin". The plural - "die Studenten" - is therefore assumed to be male because of the lack of an "in" suffix. So over the past few years we have had various attempts at constructing plural forms that are gender-neutral, each stranger than the last - StudentInnen (yes that's a capital I), Student*innen and the current flavour of the month, Studierenden ("those who study"). They could just abolish the female form like we did in English (does anyone still say manageress or directress?) and use the same word for everyone, but that would be far too simple...

21 minutes ago, Robbie said:

@Chris

Luke Williams had League experience & although he got us promoted from the National League, he did leave Notts in a mess when he went to Swansea, & Luke didn't have a load of injuries to contend with like Stuart has had.

That's true, but our defence was weaker.

Alex Bass, Matty Platt and Jacob Bedau are all massive signings which are starting to suffer from our current tactics. This season, we have improved the squad overall, but failed to make sure the depth is there in the scenario of injuries. That let Stuart Maynard down, but it just shows how complex football is.

4 minutes ago, Chris said:

That's true, but our defence was weaker.

Alex Bass, Matty Platt and Jacob Bedau are all massive signings which are starting to suffer from our current tactics. This season, we have improved the squad overall, but failed to make sure the depth is there in the scenario of injuries. That let Stuart Maynard down, but it just shows how complex football is.

And Stuart was behind getting those better players in and removing players that weren't good enough .

Whereas Luke kept those players that proved to be not good enough for league 2.

The next half a dozen matches will be important for Stuart I think. If he comes through it with a reasonable record & think the owners will stick with him.

Agree. The Brothers will support SM unless the next 6 games are a disaster. They know chopping and changing does not work and I believe the stats support this too. Changing manager mid season only works less than half the time.

A manager needs at least 3, preferably 4 windows to make it his team. This allows contracts to run out and free up funds as well as time for tactics to evolve and improve with experience.  Sadly, most owners and so many supporters fail to see this. Fortunately The Brothers are not so short sighted. We  need to remember how fortunate we are to have them as owners.

????

On a serious note, another English Club taken over by an American Billionaire is another nail in the coffin for the English game.

There needs to be a cap on spending to stop certain clubs buying success. 

I need to try these later I’ll blame you @Piethagoram if I end up in traction. 

I think I'll just keep to the walking, but I'm sure younger people will find those 11 suggestions useful.

Perhaps a more apt description are "armchair fans". Economics can play a part, as "fair weather" fans may only attend a number of games a season  and maybe have family commitments too.

Northern Ireland fans tend to be either Liverpool or Man U. These are armchair fans, geographically distanced.

The strength of the Premier League, one can get school kids following the big clubs as they want to be associated with success, when perhaps their local teams miss out ( maybe the parents too are not interested in football).

I don't like creating segregation between supporters.

But the fickle fair-weather fans who don't really support the club, just the moaning and attention it gives does drive me crazy. Every club has an element of this, but I am more inclined to give my full support despite how I feel, yet I am more than happy to share and discuss my feelings. I don't think wanting a manager/head coach out, makes anyone a fair-weather fan by default. There are many other aspects which go into it.

I am aware of fans who stopped watching Notts regularly during the years we were in the National League, who refused to attend away games, and rarely went home games but made it to the playoff final. They have seldomly started reappearing at away games, and are at most home games now. That is fair-weather by my definition, but it's their choice. I just don't like how they act like 'super fans' upon their return.

I think that introducing playoffs had a big influence in the game. Many more Clubs now have a chance of success in making the playoffs.

Take this season in League two. Sixteen teams have a realistic chance of either  getting an automatic promotion place or making the playoffs.

That fact on its own gives the fans of those clubs a much higher expectation that their club could get success, & with it possible promotion.

Even those committed fans who go to all of the home & away matches may demonstrate their frustration & be critical of the Manager/Players much more than in the past, when expectations weren't so high.

And of course another factor is social media where fans can vent their frustrations online too, which wasn't available for them in the past.

People are just less tolerant & more inclined  to criticise others nowadays than the people of the past. That phenomenon is not just reserved for football, it can be about anything.

My favourite sandwich as a child was cheese and jam, usually cheddar cheese & home made strawberry jam. 

If cheese is naturally 'wet' forget it, if there's mould or holes - just give it to the cheese connoisseur, who believes every imperfection is a sign of true fromage artistry.

Provide me with cheddar by the bucketful or Edam in delightful rolls.

If it comes from 'France' send it back, as if you don't know how to eat 'Brie', well there's no point - it won't become your bestie.

@Chris Always drive Caerphilly....

Gary won a Championship trophy for Dundee then almost immediately found himself dismissed by the owners. It's a potty football world sometimes.

Please to see him appointed Head Coach at Burton. I wish him good luck. Hope he is supported by the owners with some cash in the January window.

The inside story of Gary Bowyer's Dundee exit as tensions laid bare before the hand-delivered note which sealed his fate | The Scottish Sun

WWW.THESCOTTISHSUN.CO.UK

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THE email crowning Gary Bowyer as the Championship Manager of the Year...

I don't like Gary Bowyer. I find him to be one of those managers who appear to have something stuck, in an area I won't mention. However, it does seem to be a good appointment on paper for Burton.

He's the type of manager who gives youngsters a try; his experience in management is mostly positive. He should be able to help sort out the dressing room, and get them back to focusing on results on the pitch. It's just his personality, and the tendency of short term tenures that makes me feel unsure. A few years back, when he was linked with us and constantly being 'framed' as the next manager by a former Nottingham Post writer, I really felt like it would have ruined my love for Notts if it had been true.

I wonder if Burton fans will be able to overlook how Bowyer can act?