New Year's Day Fixtures:

Bolton Wanderers v Middlesbrough

Reading v Nottingham Forest

Peterborough United v Brentford

Walsall v Sheffield United

Plymouth Argyle v Torquay United

Scunthorpe United v Rochdale

The oldest football club

NOTTS County is the oldest football association club in the world, dating back to 1883.

The club started out by playing its own version of the game because it predates the Professional Football Association Board, which was not established until 1886.

Until 1864, the club played in the grounds of Nottingham Castle but, as it began to play against outside opposition, it needed a bigger venue. It settled at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground in 1883 and eventually moved in 1910 to The Meadows, where it still plays today.

The famous black and white striped shirts, which gave the club its nickname, The Magpies, date back to 1890 when the strip changed from amber and black hooped shirts.

Les Bradd, club ambassador and all-time leading goal-scorer, having netted 137 times between 1967 and 1978, said: "It fills us with great pride to be such a big part of history, not just in the world of football but as part of the Nottinghamshire community.

"There have been plenty of ups and downs throughout the club's 151 years but Notts County has certainly left its mark on thousands and thousands of people in the area across numerous generations.

"There have been so many unforgettable moments throughout the club's history, which I have been fortunate to be a part of and I'm sure there will be more to come as the club moves forward."

NOTTS County want to re-sign Kieron Freeman.

The transfer window reopens tomorrow and Magpies' boss Shaun Derry says he will make another loan move for the 21-year-old Derby County right back to bolster his defence in the club's battle against relegation in League One.

Freeman moved to Meadow Lane on loan back in November and made a big impact, helping Notts to two wins and two draws in seven games.

But his loan with the Magpies was cut short because of injuries at Pride Park and he left on Christmas Eve.

Derry admits losing him was a blow, despite Mustapha Dumbuya being fit again.

Notts lost their two games over Christmas to slip back to the bottom of the table ahead of facing Bradford City on home soil tomorrow (3pm), while Freeman was an unused sub for Derby in two games.

And Derry says he's going to get on the phone to Rams boss Steve McClaren about bringing the former Nottingham Forest defender back to Meadow Lane.

"It was very unfortunate that we lost Kieron," said Derry.

"Steve made it clear he had a recall clause in his contract.

"As far as Kieron is concerned, he's one we'll be trying to bring back."

Derry is also optimistic of keeping hold of star loan duo Callum McGregor and Jack Grealish for the rest of the season and is almost certain to try and sign a striker on loan in January to try and fire Notts out of the relegation zone.

"Are we missing a few? Yeah, I think the four lads we've missed over the last couple of games has affected the group, but, like I've said all the time, it has given opportunities to other people and sadly (against Crawley) they weren't taken," he added.

"I'm not going to say there were many positives because there wasn't."

Notts are five points adrift of safety and have played one more game than all of the five teams above them.

"We have made strides, both on and off the field, and I'm hoping people take notice of that," said Derry.

"It's a different place to the club I came into and now I've got to make sure that the second half of the season is a lot more enjoyable and we have to produce."

Read more: http://www.nottinghampost.com/Notts-County-want-sign-Derby-s-Kieron-Freeman/story-20382598-detail/story.html#ixzz2p2o2sMJt

I really hope so. superb player with a bright future. Hopefully at the Lane.

Greg Tempest - He's shown a good learning curve, pretty sound and a player I'd like to see feature more. With more game time I see Greg easily being the type of player we require to produce.

Tyrell Waite - From what I have seen (which is all his main features) he's a very gifted forward. He can pass, make space, run, take on players and importantly he's shown signs of knowing how to score.

Curtis Thompson - He's a little raw and almost school boy like but when he gets the ball, he isn't afraid to take on players! He's looked very mature and gifted in some games, especially when played in midfield. At Liverpool he shown no signs of nerves and helped us on our breaks against them.

Kyle Dixon, Haydn Hollis and Fab's are players with great promise - Fab's could very well be our first team keeper next year! I would definitely try to feature all these 6 when possible.

Which three youngsters/home produced players do you rate and why?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/wales/25526438

Is this a sign of things to come in English football? Would this kind of thing happened to us if Munto were the real deal?

What club is Mackay going to walk into? My dad is hoping Norwich, with Hughton looking like he may be getting the boot soon.

Happy New Year to all on pon.

I know Joe's already wished everyone this, I just wanted to take time to say it myself. Hope you all have a great New Year! I'll be celebrating it by having a few specials.

I know opinion varies in this country on Michael Schumacher, personally I really like the person & the driver, for me he turned what was a sport going nowhere into the multi bilion dollar industry it is, but at this most terrible of times for both his family and the man himself a selfish and disgusting reporter attempts to gain access to his intensive care bed 

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/dec/31/michael-schumacher-journalist-priest-intrusion

It is about time journalists the world over acted like proper human beings and the worlds governments should bring in laws & severe punishments to stop this behaviour ever being dreamed up.

They should name & shame the company and the person and turn a blind eye to whatever retribution they all suffer. How low can someone get? Imagine if this was your family member...

rant over

I always knew Ronaldo was a pompous idiot, but this just proves it.

He may think he is gods gift to football, but does it really take 5 men to massage him?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2531831/Ronaldo-lies-thinks-Spain-gets-massage-FIVE-MAN-team.html

Hi there.  Thought I would start off by sharing some photos I took from around the Lane earlier in the year

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcobb/sets/72157633612004386/

Glad to have join us @Ginger_Pie.Please join in posting and enjoy.

Welcome to PoN @SuperNotts 5891,I look forward to you joining in.I hope you enjoy your time on here with us.

Nice to have you with us Netherfield_pie.Look forward to your posts.Enjoy.

Looking through this site I noticed a thread on away travel in which some fans were asking for experiences of coach travel to away games (this was under away travel & match tickets,but as no one has replied since feb I thought it better to add my thoughts here). As shall we say a veteran traveler(I have done well over 90 grounds with Notts, many numerous times) I have sampled most forms of transport. Train When they ran specials)was by far my favorite but now can be very expensive & unfortunately some clubs still have a hooligan element who enjoy waiting at stations so be careful!, car is fine if there are enough of you to cover the cost of petrol & parking but the poor driver cannot have a pre match drink (fine if your not driving) So we come to coach travel,I tend to travel alone now days & over the past few seasons have probably made 20 or so trips with the supporters club & this season with the new club ran supporters association there is imo little to choose between them,for any inexperienced,lone or traveler with children I would highly recommend this, it is friendly,reasonably priced and they normally drop & pick up right outside the ground ideal if you are visiting one of the less friendly grounds. Thankfully the hooligan problems that we once had at away games have mainly disappeared & there are very few that you cannot feel comfortable wearing your colours, indeed I often enjoy a chat with home fans, but obviously common sense is required(may be a jacket to cover up if needed).We don't have a massive away following & the same faces tend to travel by coach so you soon come to be recognized & get to know people & if like me travel alone often sit next to some interesting people ( I always take something readable just in case). All coaches now seem to have loos which helps if you have a family & for the longer journeys most have hot drinks & include raffles & quizzes to pass the time. I hope this helps anyone who is thinking of travelling by coach.

Is currently for sale on Ebay (for charity)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tom-Huddlestones-hair-/221345205566

A bargain currently at £1,330

I haven't been to Crawley before, so this will be a new ground for me. I'm pretty much looking forward to it, though I am unsure about what to expect at the final whistle. I believe we can win them, though this depends on many things - one of which being the referee. Yes we can't keep blaming them, yet it's hard not to.

Crawley are on the slide, they can play good football but with John Gregory as their manager who knows what to expect. They have shown they can do well, they beat the league leaders but lost to MK Dons yesterday.

Liddle's absence will see Fotheringham or Labadie start, for once I wished we tried either having more support from the advanced midfielders or use Liddle's situation to throw on an additional striker. I would be tempted to start Haynes and Murray, leaving Enoch on the bench in case we need to mix things up. Murray is doing well, a really tricky player and although lightweight he hustle's for sure.

I have to go with my heart and say a Notts win, only narrow but it will do! 2-1 Notts.

Around 250 of our fans in attendance I am predicting.

What do you think?

For a minute, let's assume that a single signing would save Notts from relegation.  Who would this signing be and why?

It can be someone who would realistically come to Notts or someone who is completely out of our league.

Woohoo, not only have we reached our 35 post goal for today, we have smashed it.

This is the first time I have seen us reach the goal. Hopefully we can do this much more often.

Hopefully nobody minds, here's some with the group I usually travel with during away games. Good laugh!





Always good to make sure days can be made better! I actually normally don't drink, though yesterday I was glad I did.. hehe

I didn't realise it had so much content. My word, totally impressed. Have any of you had a look at the calendar?

Did anyone else get half the contents of the Notts County shop for Christmas?



Doesn't seem to let me post a photo from my tablet

This is a shock transfer, I suppose not so much if you read the reports on how much he's expected to earn but still it proves what today's football is like. Toronto aren't even remotely like Spurs, who have gotten themselves into a shaky situation. On paper they've signed some gems from the fee obtained by selling Gareth Bale but sadly it's too quick, they've also missed the impact of two of their key players this season and one of which is in fact this very man.

If this goes ahead (I'm not sure if it as yet)... They've got themselves a cracking player, who should score for fun over in the states.

Worst case scenario is, he get's injured and ends up like Joe Cole - Still, this won't make him rethink.
 

Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe could become the highest-paid player in MLS if he joins Toronto FC.
 
The England international is set to earn a basic $150,000 per week at BMO Field, with the Ontario club set to fork out an MLS-record transfer fee in the region of $13million for his services according to reports.
 
The fee trumps that spent by Seattle Sounders to take Clint Dempsey from Spurs in August, as the Reds look to make a statement in the MLS off-season.
 
Toronto, currently managed by Defoe's former Spurs teammate Ryan Nelsen, are looking to transform their squad, having finished 17th in the Supporters Shield in 2013.
 
They have already allowed United States midfielder Bobby Convey, former Dutch international Danny Koevermans and ex-Wales striker Rob Earnshaw to depart as they look to clear the decks.
 
And the expectation is that Defoe will arrive as one of their three Designated Players - the other two spots having recently been filled by new signing Gilberto and Argentine midfielder Matias Laba.

Full Story: Here - Thoughts?

does anyone know if there is any quality freebies available or will be in january?

lets discuss possible free signings.

I mean players by the way!

After reading that Liddle might be out for a perlonged period, I think maybe it's time shaun released a few of the players who haven't contributed and tried to wrangle a few players coming in which he owns rather than loans.

Thoughts on who to release and why?

Firstly, what a BRILLIANT username! Full points here for creativity, I like it!

Welcome to Pride of Nottingham @Mind your McManus, I'm very glad you've joined us and I also hope to see you contribute when you get time (even if it's just to see this username). I've heard many stories of keeping ability, I still have one of those old player cards my Grandfather gave to me as a child of Eric's.

Well I hope you drop by sometime to say hello, it would be nice to hear from you. See you around the community!

After it being mentioned on the Derry thread I thought it would be a nice way to welcome in the new year with a quick recall of some of the managers we've had in recent memory. For me it goes back to Jimmy and obviously nobody has come close since, but we've had a few lame ducks!

talking about 'having a few' Howard Kendall at the Lane. What a waste of money on his wages and his drinks bill that was!

A good manager is normally judged by overall championship wins eg Warnock and big Sam, but as I mentioned in another post, Mick Walker was always the manager who could have done so much, but wasn't allowed to by Pavis. Mick is still a favourite of mine just because he believed in his philosophy and it looked like it was well on the way to working (Unlike CK!)