I never felt I would live through something like COVID; it was a strange time. All the conspiracies got on my nerves, and I remember hating lockdown. The struggle to make sure you had food, etc, due to the demands created by the limits. I had a lot of discussions with supermarkets about getting Granny Pie and @super_ram theirs, as I worried that it would put them at risk.

It's not like my dad could just leave my mum alone while he fetched a large amount of shopping, nor did I think he would manage. @cheeky~k8, and I basically made sure to check if anything was needed. During the period when you were told to isolate, we didn't have a lot of interaction with them at first, but we would make sure to nip by with essentials. I remember going to Asda in Hyson Green/Radford, and seeing people with shopping trolleys filled with water and toilet roll. Some of the fighting I witnessed shocked me; it showed how brain-dead and selfish some people were. I also remember some local shops increasing their prices as a means to profit at the expense of those who might need them. These places I will never support by shopping in; I would rather walk further and support one that did not.

Going back to the memories of shopping, I thought to put my parents on the priority list for deliveries and, to be fair, Sainsbury's was the first to agree. ASDA and Tesco were very painful to deal with, as we spent most days constantly on the telephone. I also took to social media to highlight how my mum was bed-bound, and how my dad looked after her 24/7. Eventually, we got Tesco to agree, but they are a nightmare to deal with. Asda wasn't so bad, but there were still issues.

The positive aspect of the situation was ensuring they got food delivered to them, and I think those who handled deliveries were unsung heroes during the pandemic.

Whilst I hated having to queue in line with people, I got a sense of reality from going out. I also hated the period where @cheeky~k8 did all of the shopping, and refused to allow me to help because I was struggling with hEDS (hypermobile and dislocating joints).

Looking back, I am amazed how poor common sense was amongst most people and all the selfishness.

When the restrictions weren't so tight, and you would witness people sneezing/coughing without consideration for anyone else. Leaving used tissues on bus seats is both inconsiderate and thoughtless. Whilst mostly negative, I did feel it brought my family and some friends closer, for which I was very thankful, for that too, as it was a good distraction.

I had to work through the whole thing being classed as an essential worker delivering Milk.

It was a scary time not knowing that I would catch the COVID or not, but I was fortunate enough not to get it, neither did my wife.

Lots of others weren't so fortunate unfortunately.

I caught COVID twice; it wasn't very nice. It impacted my breathing and I had to use my inhaler again. Something I haven't done since I was about 13 or 14. For a period I was waking up in the middle of the night, being unable to breathe, which was later classified as 'long-term COVID'. It was horrible, and I felt terrible for those I know who got it. Two weeks doesn't sound all that bad to recover, but the chills and sweats, combined with tiredness and all the other nasty symptoms, I can understand why some were very cautious.

It didn't help insisting that children still had to go to school; this helped the spread, and there is not much some youngsters can do. They lack the preparation and maturity to deal with this sort of thing.

The worst thing that made COVID scary was that you didn't know what underlying conditions could cause more problems, and I know people who seemed healthy but passed away due to catching COVID. One of which was in their early 20s and a Notts fan.

@Robbie: I am glad you avoided it.

Funny how that happened today @Robbie, I thought Hinchy was a tad unlucky to be taken off at half-time as well. I get things needed to change but sadly no-one really performed very well against Wimbledon.

Yes I agree with you all, Matty Palmer is a great midfielder with the ability to get his foot on the ball and spread the ball around and keep play moving although I do wish and not just of Palmer but the midfield in general,  that we could mix it up a bit and try to sometimes play balls through the channels to players or to run on to or play the odd ball over the top for the forwards to run on to rather than always going out to the wings.

I get the reasoning behind the thoughts shared, but Matt Palmer is creative, and the only downside to his game, to me, is the lack of goals from him. Not all midfielders will be goalscorers, but he does everything we would want in a midfielder, and he does that well. I do think he's more overlooked because he is more consistently involved in scoring, but he does make passes which open up the play. A lot of the threaded passes which put someone else through to create an assist come from his forward thinking, so I think this is an element in him not being considered so much as Man of the Match material.

Yet he's usually among my candidates; it's just that I think we rely more on players in different ways, and he's someone who contributes defensively and in attack.

Whereas some other players tend to be more attacking-minded, a fair comparison to me would be just how involved Jacob Bedeau is when attacking. He does both well, yet his overlapping ability and means of getting forward are part of his exceptional game.

Palmer is used more as a player to transition play, to switch things up, and he commands the pace of play. Rather than being energetic, I think we know how important he is to our squad.

Needs to be more investment in North Notts. Plans for an extension of the Robin Hood Line between the Towns of Mansfield & Ollerton v Edwinstowe were put forward.

A feasibility study was started in 2009 but after 16 years, they are still stuck in the planning stage while other projects in the South of Nottinghamshire seem to get preference.

The council has had money to extend the lines, but keeps cancelling them, and I find it very annoying. Every time there is talk about the tram's extension, the cost tends to go up. I haven't used one for years now.

I think a lot of people in Nottingham would rather see them not break down so frequently; this is another reason why I stopped using them.

There's room for extensions, but the funds need to be in place and managed better. It can't be a case of "this is happening" and then, two years later, "we don't have the funds". What happened to the funds that were there to begin with? Nottingham, as a city, is one where a lot of broken promises happen. I read recently that the Broadmarsh development needs more money to flatten more of the unused land.

It's no surprise that the council is facing financial difficulties.

@SAFC lad I wish to retract my statement "defensively sound"... Really shown up today

22 minutes ago, Piethagoram said:

@SAFC lad I wish to retract my statement "defensively sound"... Really shown up today

I agree, Maynard was quick to see he was struggling and subbed him at half time.

I think I thought he was much better than I thought to start with, not to say he is bad but perhaps give a little too much space, does get out paced and can be slower to react and gets caught out by a yard or two and then it's difficult to recover from. But I am sure these are all things that experience will bring.

Yeah, that was poor. Wimbledon were better in every department in the first half and deserved their lead. We improved in the second, but still struggled to create chances. With Wimbledon having kept 18 clean sheets, it's not surprising that ahcnes were at a premium, but the two preventable goals in the first half killed us. Jatte and Palmer missed chances to make a game of it later on.

Palmer is a key player for us and has many good qualities, but taking corners and free kicks is not one of them. Either we go back to Williamsball and just keep the ball on the ground, or we find someone who can cross the ball. Even if that means sitting Jodi Jones in a chair in the centre circle and letting him get up for the set pieces.

This is the time of the season that promotion-winning teams really click into gear and we're a long way from our best form. I think there have been too many changes on and off the pitch and too many injuries, and the chickens are coming home to roost a bit now. However, we're still fifth and well in the mix, even if I don't really fancy us right now.

Morning all, it’s the last day of the warmer weather so make the most of today, next week is colder.

My Fitbit had a message on the app saying I’ve been overdoing it lately and I’ve got to take time out to relax so I’m going to do just that. My legs are aching from yesterdays park run but I do need to mow the lawn so I’ll do that today but that won’t be too strenuous.

Beautiful morning here once again. Blue sky, not a cloud to be seen 

The weather takes me back to the summer of 1973 when I went with my parents on holiday to the Norfolk broads for two weeks. 

I'll always remember the beautiful weather we had. For the whole of the two weeks we experienced almost unbroken sunshine every single day with temperatures in the mid 70s & above. 

Update.

Update. 

Defeat on the road.

Let's hear from the boss.

WPL Division one Midlands after today's matches. Notts are in seventh place.

My four players that stood out were Jacob Bedeau, Alassana Jatta, and the two players that came on as substitutes at the start of the 2nd half, Macari & McDonald.

Out of those four on my shortlist I agree with @menzinho Rod McDonald defended well in the 2nd half & he is my Notts Man of the match. Stuart needs to play him from the start against Grimsby.

Four hours left before this poll closes. Let's show we are giving the team our support & choose a Man of the Match 

@TheSkipper

@CliftonMagpie

@Chris

@DangerousSausage

@True Magpie

The poll has now closed.

Thank you to all who voted.

I am pleased to announce that Rod McDonald has been voted Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match against  Wimbledon for his good performance when he came in as a substitute at the start of the 2nd half. Well done Rod.

Hull City 1-2 Plymouth Argyle

Preston North End 1-1 Swansea City

Charlton Athletic 1-2 Barnsley

Mansfield Town 1-1 Wigan Athletic

Colchester United 2-1 Chesterfield (joker)

Newport County 0-1 Gillingham

Aldershot 2-1 Dagenham & Redbridge

Solihull Moors 0-2 Sutton United

Waiting with baited breath who finishes up in the latest 1,2 & 3

Tuesday's results:

Hull City 2-0 Plymouth Argyle
Preston North End 0-0 Swansea City
Charlton Athletic 1-0 Barnsley
Mansfield Town 0-0 Wigan Athletic
Colchester United 1-0 Chesterfield
Newport County 3-1 Gillingham
Aldershot Town 0-0 Dagenham & Redbridge
Solihull Moors 1-1 Sutton United

---

Congrats to this round's winners @Robbie and @william1984!

---

This is our table overall. @ARLukomski has built up a healthy lead, while I've graciously allowed @Robbie to spend a few days in the top three...

---

Saturday's round is also done and dusted and I'll post the points for that in the next day or two. Our next round will be this coming Saturday, so keep your eyes peeled for that. Have a good week  

Cornish pasties are my go to pies, but I have to try keep off the processed foods nowadays, but it is difficult I can tell you.

I try to steer clear of pies too, my mam used to make a fabulous meat and potato pie. I can almost taste it as I write this.

I wonder if Dan Crowley is regretting moving now?

23 hours ago, Fan of Big Tone said:

I wonder if Dan Crowley is regretting moving now?

Tough question, but I think he might just still have the mindset that his move was the best decision for his family.

@Chris

I may be wrong about this but I've never experienced a player wanting to move purely for family reasons. Maybe in the lower leagues but not in the PL or Championship.

The will to better yourself, increase your wages and get trophies has always been the driving force for the vast majority of players.

I always thought that Dan was above the 4th tier & when he moved from Notts he would go up the tiers rather than sideways.

This is terrible news for Chesterfield & their fans.

Best wishes to Phil, his family & the Club at this time.

This is an example where football rivalry doesn't matter, and life becomes the important thing. It's such sad news, as he has done a lot of good for the club and will have only just started to see his efforts pay off within the EFL. I still feel they outplayed us at Wembley, and that our promotion based on penalties was cruel, but at the same time, so would have been us missing out based on the points difference.

That said, there's nothing crueller than cancer, and I wish Phil Kirk all the best in seeing out the quality of life that he can. I really hope he manages to avoid pain, and declines to the point where he just suffers more.

I have some very good friends who are Spireite fans and they speak very highly of Phil and what he’s done for the club, it’s a tragedy for him and his family but also for Chesterfield FC and their fans. I wish him a painless release from this world and I hope his family can bear the inevitable sadness at the loss of their loved one.

Clem Morfuni is one of the worst owners in football; he has zero clue about how to run a club and has just used the club as a vanity project. He talked of building them, using links to other clubs and bringing in better players, but it has left Swindon Town soulless. I wished, @medievalmickey could comment on this.

He wouldn't allow the club to sign players for longer than a single season at one point, and the players under contract quickly hated the environment around the club. There was a video on YouTube where a channel interviewed the Swindon Town Trust and managed to get players to do interviews. One of whom didn't play at all, despite having half a season left on his deal, just because he called out Morfuni.

It might seem that they are managing their debts better, but I think it is more due to the neglect and cutbacks that Morfuni had previously put in place. The total amount, I think, is increasing. Swindon fans still want him out, but for them to find someone willing to take on over £8 million of historical debts seems a challenge. I also can't see an owner like Morfuni walking away without wanting some form of profit. He doesn't care what personal thoughts are towards him; he's just hell-bent on owning a football club and only cares about himself.

Swindon Town Supporters Trust reiterates call for new owners

WWW.BBC.CO.UK

---

Swindon Town Supporters Trust reiterates its call for owner Clem Morfuni to sell the struggling League Two club.

@Chris Swindon Town is the perfect example why we need to have an independent  football regulator as soon as possible to ensure that every new club owner is checked out for suitability.

Having the power to force an owner to sell a club or ban individuals for life would be a big step forward.

It shouldn't be left to the Premier League & EFL to check out new owners & Directors as they do now. Their due diligence on new owners is clearly not dilligent enough.

Just now, Robbie said:

Having the power to force an owner to sell a club or ban individuals for life would be a big step forward.

The FA, under its membership, should formulate this rule and then seek legal governance of it. This would be a huge step forward, but currently fans protesting or wanting an owner out usually fall on deaf ears. Some local councils do try to get involved; this happened with Derby and I think it helped in their case. They almost lost access to Pride Park without a similar issue to what is happening with Bradford City leasing their own ground for an exorbitant amount per season.

I am all for it; I think football would be better off if independent football regulators were introduced.

In addition, owners who purchase assets for the club should be required to put 51% of the ownership into something outright owned by the club or its fans. Ideally, not a trust or supporters group. These are areas where problems could easily form, and we only have to look at when Munto purchased the club. I think it should be separate, independent, and formed from all groups involved in supporting the team.

It's amazing how popular the background image became years after this; it was actually JJ who first used it. He asked me to add our logo, some text, and that became something we often shared and tried to encourage people to further widen it.

Also, a glimpse into the past when our logo included the Notts badge.

I agree that the bringing on Grant and Tsaroulla changed the game for the better. I think both have underpeformed this season. Given that Grant plays in the No.10 role there really is a lot of onous on him to create and score more goals and this season that has be badly lacking. And for me Tsaroulla is a strange one, I’ve never known someone look so comfortable and threatening until they get into the final third that is, usually his shooting is really poor. It was better from his last night though!

Anyway, I went for Abbott just because I see no reason why his goal was disallowed and you can never fault his lack of effort.

The poll has closed.

I'm pleased to announce that Jacob Bedeau has been voted the Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match against Barrow. Well done Jacob.

I didn't get to go to the game, and I haven't yet watched the full game or highlights. Yet I am sure the right player has been voted for, and it is good to see Jacob Bedeau continuing his form.

Thanks for voting, everyone.

notts should have made the second half count and there was moments i felt we could but we just lacked that cutting edge on goal. bringing conor grant on was a good decision, and i can see why he does not always start because he can fade in and out. he made a good impact and i dont think the side is struggling due to injuries, more because they are not putting attacking practices into the play. i thought barrow did well to sit back, but play when the opportunity came.

you can see that they are a good league team but we had every chance to turn the game around and we just failed.

i left feeling frustrated but with the game in hand, plus the results going in our favour. i think winning a few games back to back would help, but we need to start taking the chances we get because the results in other games wont always go our way. just a bit more urgency at times and better movement seems enough to give us a bit more opportunity to create something more clean cut.

5 hours ago, Piethagoram said:

 

I don’t think Traore is quite up to speed yet, he didn’t link well with Jatta the seemed to be on a different wavelength and as is said above he should have been able to jump higher to win that header and prevent the goal.

On the disallowed goal, having just seen the replay from @Piethagoram's clip it hits the Barrow player and no-one is in the keepers eyeline. The most telling thing is the reaction from the Barrow player who has the best view (standing on space on the right-hand side) he instantly puts his head in hands, he knew…

I’d have liked to have seen a touch map for Traore, I’d be surprised if he got into double figures. Not his fault though but in Jatta and Traore we had a physical striker and a quick striker yet we didn’t use either of their strengths enough. I know they'll need time to get used to each others game, but I really don't know why we took so long to get the ball to them.

Wise choice. Personally, the increase in political nonsense tended to put me off.

I'm pleased with this decision. Plenty of opportunities for people to post their political views & opinions on other social media. 

Politics has become very devisive and it is a wise move for PON to shut the door on it. 

i like the changes to limit guests and i hope it encourages people to be more involved, it just takes people to read, comment and get to know members or if they choose to remain private they can but the site is a great community. we are much better off without politics.

It is a good article. It's good to read that Didzy is in talks with the club about his future once his contract runs out.

Whether Notts get promoted or not, I still see Didzy having much to give if he extended his contract for another year.

It's always good to see a Notts player getting their name in an article like this; David McGoldrick has deserved it and we'll be better off when he's able to return to action. The good thing is, we should be able to manage him better and rotate/change him when he needs a bit of time.

This season he has been far and away one of the most improved and consistent players compared to last season.

Notts need him back on the playing field as soon as possible. Notts play much better with him being in the side. Jatta isn't the same player without him either.

I think if a keeper drops the ball and picks it back up it’s an indirect free-kick isn’t it? They can bounce it but I think that’s it. Could be wrong though.

I quite like the idea and let’s be honest it probably benefits us, it’s one way of combating all the teams who do just constantly time waste and try to play as little football as possible. I’d go one step further though, if they do it twice in a match the punishment should be a penalty, three times and a goal is awarded! Maybe I’m getting a bit carried away here... 

@menzinho You're almost spot on! If a goalkeeper drops the ball and picks it back up, it was indeed previously an indirect free-kick. However, the new rules starting from the 2025-26 season state that goalkeepers must release the ball within eight seconds of first holding it. If they fail to do so, the opposing team will be awarded a corner kick instead. 

They can still bounce it without issue, though. Your idea about stricter penalties for repeated offences does sound a bit intense but might indeed discourage time-wasting even more effectively.

I think one thing the authorities could  do to keep the game flowing could  be to stop goalkeepers catching & holding the ball altogether. 

A goalkeeper could punch crosses away or deflect shots with their hands.

If the goalkeeper has to hold the ball from a shot or from the air, a throw in could be awarded to the attacking side 18 yards from the defensive goal line.

I'm sure penalising the goalkeeper like that from catching & holding the ball would reduce it to a minimum & keep the game flowing.

Personally, I don't think Joe Palmer does all that much that is publicly known. He seems quite happy in the background, and I would prefer a bit more transparency and open dialogue from him. I don't mean in terms of squashing rumours, but just general insights, which is why I miss the communication that Jason Turner used to provide. I hate how the club does things when they want the fans on their side, but the moment attendances are up and things seem rosy, you might not realise just how much the CEO role benefits the club when they are acknowledging fans with their work.

Joe seems to focus on behind-the-scenes tasks at the ground, rather than the fans. I think it would be nice to have more frequent updates, not necessarily monthly. Now that he is a director, his role at the club will be a very important channel of communication, and I hope the club considers this.

I think Notts are missing Richard Montague leaving more than people realise. I think that he used to work well with Stuart Maynard.

I don't think that it is surprise that the Notts form has dropped off since Richard left. Coupled with the fact that Craig & Matt Saunders left at a similar time too, those three leaving are sure to have disrupted the Club in lots of ways.

I'm sure that the players miss Craig & Matt on the training ground & Stuart misses Richard too.

Luton Town 1-2 Portsmouth

Stoke City 1- 1 Watford

Crawley Town 2-1 Cambridge United

Peterborough United 1-0 Shrewsbury Town

Cheltenham Town 2-0 Grimsby Town 

Harrogate Town 1-0 Accrington Stanley

Oldham Athletic 1-3 Barnet 

Yeovil Town 2-2 Southend United

This round is closed and I'll post the results in the next couple of days. Round 35 is on Tuesday, so I'll post the fixtures for that in the next few minutes!

Saturday's results:

Luton Town 1-0 Portsmouth
Stoke City 0-0 Watford
Crawley Town 0-2 Cambridge United
Peterborough United 3-1 Shrewsbury Town
Cheltenham Town 1-1 Grimsby Town
Harrogate Town 2-1 Accrington Stanley
Oldham Athletic 0-3 Barnet
Yeovil Town 2-2 Southend United

---

@menzinho came out on top this round!

---

And this is the updated table overall:

---

This evening we've got another round on, you can enter your predictions until 7.45pm this evening. As ever, thanks for playing and see you there!

i think it could be a good thing but it depends how serious notts are about it and if they can get the right people to take the seats. i think there are more reasons why this can fail, than there are to succeed. if the club find the right person to lead the meetings and it actually focuses on notts, us fans and does not become about what those groups involved can get or the benefits of being close to the club it could be good for notts. i am just of the mindset that most will want something and not all give up their time just to be useful. some will, most probably not.

I think it could be a good thing but the club has to give it continued support & getting the right people to run it is absolutely essential.

Perhaps where it could work, would be to meet a month before the annual forum of the directors.

All questions are collated and discussed and then a list of questions with suggested remedies be put forward to the Directors for discussion?

Stunning pictures, thanks @Piethagoram Scotland is indeed a beautiful place I just wish good weather could be guaranteed, my favourite memory of Scotland is a fantastic holiday I had when I was around 18 with my parents we stayed in a bed and breakfast on the shores of the Firth of Clyde, I spent a lot of time fishing for mackerel from a rowing boat.

We also had a cruise on the paddle steamer Waverley around the Kyles of Bute, the weather was idyllic, I’d love to recreate that holiday one day.

i love going to visit my family up in scotland and on the isle of man, there is a lot of beautiful scenery. i do want to take time to look around england, but i have always found scotland to be very peaceful. there is some great pictures in the article.

We are blessed with wonderful scenery all around the British Isles.

Coventry City 2-0 Preston North End

Portsmouth 2-1 Queens Park Rangers

Bolton Wanderers 2-2 Leyton Orient

Northampton Town 2-1 Bristol Rovers

Grimsby Town 2-1 Fleetwood Town

Port Vale 1-0 Salford City (Joker)

Rochdale 2-2 Barnet

Tamworth 1-1 Southend United

Thanks for playing, I'll post the results in the next couple of days. In the meantime, I'll post the next round if fixtures now. 

Curiously, every single one of the Football League fixtures ended 2-1 to the home team:

Coventry City 2-1 Preston North End
Portsmouth 2-1 QPR
Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Leyton Orient
Northampton Town 2-1 Bristol Rovers
Grimsby Town 2-1 Fleetwood Town
Port Vale 2-1 Salford City
Rochdale 0-4 Barnet
Tamworth 1-1 Southend United

---

@ARLukomski nailed it this week with 15 points!

---

Overall, @ARLukomski now has a double-digit lead over @super_ram and the championship is looking like a two-horse race (or three if I can slip myself some points while nobody is looking).

---

So that's round 33. Round 34, from Saturday, will be counted at some point tomorrow. Round 35, for Tuesday night, is already up and running - go on, have a go!