i like how the headlines have automatically jumped on this being a positive thing for wrexham and how it will help them gain promotion, when in fact nobody knows yet how it will impact wycombe. they have a good team, so a good appointment should see them be fine.

good luck to matt bloomfield at luton.

The manager merry-go-round continues. 

Why would manager leave a club 2nd in League 1 for a club just 2 points above the relegation places in the Championship?

He must be getting a massive salary increase. Seems to me Managers aren't too bothered about getting trophies nowadays.

It would be a laugh if Wycombe get promoted & Luton get relegated at the end of the season.

That's impressive! Never doubted him. 

Credit to @ARLukomski

it was a great bit of skill, a bit heavy on his touch but it worked out. nice to see haydn hollis doing well. i thought he was a decent defender, just a bit erratic.

4 hours ago, super_ram said:

Well ,that was fun this week.

Only two of the games actually went ahead, so I might not need to use all my fingers when I count the scores up! It's pretty frustrating as all of these games were on when I picked them on Thursday night. Oh well, the show must go on.

1 hour ago, DangerousSausage said:

Only two of the games actually went ahead, so I might not need to use all my fingers when I count the scores up! It's pretty frustrating as all of these games were on when I picked them on Thursday night. Oh well, the show must go on.

You might only need your thumbs @DangerousSausage

The results, such as they are:

Swindon Town 0-0 Crewe Alexandra
Boston United 2-2 Ebbsfleet United
All the rest - POSTPONED

---

With only two games actually going ahead, points were at a premium. However, this round's clear winner was @cheeky~k8, who not only got both results right, but also the scores - just in the wrong order!

---

This predictably has zero effect on our standings, but here they are anyway!

---

Join us on Wednesday, when I'll be posting Saturday's fixtures and hoping more of them actually go ahead! We usually lose a few fixtures due to postponements every season, but because there were such a lot this time I might add a couple of extra fixtures on next time. Thanks for playing, well done to those of you who won points and see you next time!

One for the Football Regulator to insist upon

I also watched the Tamworth/Spurs game and found it hard to believe the commentator after  he mentioned the 96 place league standing difference between the two teams.I bet the Spurs players  weren't expecting Tamworth to be so good.I agree wholeheartedly with @Robbie and @Fan of Big Tone .There would be a lot of resistence to @Piethagoram's correct comment, from the moneygrabbing 'Elite' in the Premier League.We can't have a fixture pile up affecting the various Euro games due to FA Cup replays,can we?

Yes, it's a bit of a double whammy isn't it - the smaller club loses out on a replay, while the big club has much more strength in depth to swing extra time their way.

Rumours are just Rumours, but it would be a big coup for Notts if they could sign him. He would be competition for Dan Crowley, but he would also be a great replacement if Dan decided to leave.

I like the way that the Reedtz brothers are always looking ahead & are always keen to bring in young players that can only improve.

Pete O’Rourke was the only journalist with info about Langstaff to Millwall in the summer, which made me doubt it, but that turned out to all be true.

I think there must be something in it and it turns out Charlie is following a number of Notts players on Instagram, bit random otherwise ain’t it?

@saddlesore but we can but try ????

On 04/01/2025 at 19:24, Piethagoram said:

@saddlesore but we can but try ????

I could try with Maya Jama too.

Btw, rumours of Crowley joining us. Local-ish, and knows our CEO from being at Morecambe together.

We invented the locomotive along with the rolling stock and now we have a French Company in charge of operations in Derby. Where did it all go wrong?

Standards.....European countries adopted the Berne gauge...standard gauge like the UK but with larger bridge & tunnel clearances.

The old Great Central through Nottingham Victoria was built for Berne gauge rolling stock

It's Matchday.

League table Sunday 12/01/25

Notts in seventh place. Northampton top of the league.

I think this is a good appointment by Everton.

Talk about “merry go round” how many clubs has Moyes managed now?

13 hours ago, Fan of Big Tone said:

Talk about “merry go round” how many clubs has Moyes managed now?

Technically no more than he had before as this is his second go ????

Blimey! I get vertigo in the Pavis stand, I wouldn’t fancy it at the top of that stand it looks almost vertical. 

Very sad news, I wonder how long it will be before heading a ball I banned or is it less dangerous now with different (lighter?) balls?

Good Morning.

The match has been called off between Grimsby & Notts just 1.5 hours before the match was due to start.

I'm so upset for the many hundreds of fans that made the journey this morning.

Why wasn't there a Referee's inspection last night? Without undersoil heating the match was always going to be in doubt.

They desperately wanted the match to go ahead for the sake of the TV coverage.

Lessons are never learned from previous times when matches were called off late.

I don't travel away these days but if I was still doing so I wouldn’t have travelled for this game, it was blindingly obvious the game would be called off after hard frosts for the last 3 or 4 nights. It should have been called off yesterday at the latest.

There needs to be changes made to the format of the FA Cup. 

I would have Premier League teams enter the competition from the first round. I would bring back replays for the first four rounds, so lower league clubs can earn more money from that replay.

I would also fine Clubs for not picking their strongest team.

I would go back to having all FA Cup matches played on a Saturday, with a number played on the Sunday, to encourage higher attendances. Only replays would be played midweek as they used to be in the past.

I would also reduce the number of live TV matches that are made available to try to encourage higher attendances at those FA Cup matches.

Some good ideas there @Robbie, but I quite like the big clubs joining in in the third round. That way, a big draw in round three is a reward for progressing, rather than a lottery. But replays should definitely return and I'd also look into fining clubs for fielding weaker teams - if it's possible in the Trophy, it can be done in the FA Cup too.

Poor attendances aren't new though. I remember us playing Cambridge at home in the early 2000s and there were less than 3000 people there. It was so quiet approaching the ground I actually thought it had been called off.

When I was a boy, there used to be multiple temporary tattoos that were on special sheets of paper that you could cut out & press on your arm. The temporary tattoos would last a week or so. Permanent tattoos are a no no as far as I'm concerned.

1 hour ago, Robbie said:

Permanent tattoos are a no no as far as I'm concerned.

The thing about permanent tattoos is that they’re …….. well permanent, it is what it says on the tin, how many people have had the names of their boyfriend/girlfriend tattooed and then split up and got another partner? You can’t change your mind later. A definite no from me too @Robbie.

I don’t have any tattoos I don’t mind them, very much each to their own. That said I do think I massive tattoos/lots of them usually look ridiculous. I'm with you though @Fan of Big Tone I just know in say 10/20 years time my opinion of what I like is likely to have changed so getting something permanent on my skin just doesn’t appeal to me.

When I went on holiday, parentless with some friends for the first time, we all thought it would be a good idea to get a tattoo at about 1 in the morning, as you do... Luckily one of my friends had a touch too much to drink so I was able to volunteer myself to take him back to our room! Those that remained went ahead and all regret it to this day. Some of them have been edited or lasered off. I’m glad I never got one.

Quoted from Google AI

"Pizza is often packed in a square box because square boxes are cheaper and easier to make than round boxes. They are also easier to store and transport.

Square boxes are cheaper to make because they can be formed from a single sheet of cardboard. Round boxes need to be made from multiple pieces of cardboard or shaped using machinery.

Square boxes are easier to transport because they can remain flat until needed.The extra space in the corners of a square box allows for airflow, which prevents the crust from getting soggy.

A pizza is cut into triangles because it's the most efficient way to divide a circular pizza into equal pieces, ensuring everyone gets a similar amount of crust and toppings".

I've never thought about this before, but I can now see why they use a square box to pack Pizza now.

Get voting for Jatta.

@Robbie I haven’t voted because they need your email, I get too many junk emails as it is, I hope he wins though.

1 hour ago, Fan of Big Tone said:

@Robbie I haven’t voted because they need your email, I get too many junk emails as it is, I hope he wins though.

I know. Junk mail is a problem.

It's the same as spam calls. These companies shouldn't be allowed to share emails and phone numbers without a persons expressed permission..

And the vast majority of people wouldn't give permission.

It’s very sad, looking at the pictures it looks like a war zone with houses burnt to the ground, it looks like they are all built from wood or at least combustible material, don’t they have brick built buildings over there?

If that happened in a big city here at least the shell of the buildings would be intact.

To answer your question @Fan of Big Tone

Quoted from Google 

Houses in the USA are not primarily made of brick because it is generally more expensive and less efficient to build with brick compared to wood framing, due to factors like higher labor costs for masonry work, the need for specialized skills to install bricks, and the readily available supply of wood in the country; additionally, modern building codes and aesthetic preferences often favor other materials over solid brick construction. 

Key reasons why brick isn't widely used for houses in the USA:

Cost:

Brick is significantly more expensive than wood framing, including the cost of materials, transportation, and labor needed for installation by skilled masons. 

Construction time:

Building with brick takes considerably longer than wood framing, increasing overall construction costs. 

Availability of wood:

The US has a readily available supply of lumber, making wood a more economical choice. 

Seismic concerns:

In earthquake-prone regions, solid brick construction can be less resistant to seismic activity compared to other building methods. 

Aesthetic trends:

Modern housing design often favors different aesthetics than traditional brick houses, leading to a shift towards other materials. 

Thanks @Robbie I can understand the earthquake threat but I’m not sure about the other reasons, cost of materials, labour etc. I’d imagine cost would be last thing on the minds of the wealthy people in some of those areas.

Hi everyone - as I've just spent a few days in the good ol' U of K, I'm running behind with this. I'll post matchday 26 now and count the points for round 25 today or tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.

The results:

Norwich City 2-1 Coventry City
Sheffield Wednesday 2-2 Millwall
Exeter City 1-2 Bolton Wanderers
Lincoln City 0-0 Stevenage
Stockport County 1-2 Mansfield Town
Barrow 0-2 Harrogate Town
Colchester United 0-2 Accrington Stanley
Doncaster Rovers 1-2 Port Vale

---

Congratulations to this round's winners @4everapie and @Dan!

---

It's as you were at the top with @super_ram still ahead, but @Dan and @4everapie continue to climb and @Fan of Big Tone has almost reached the top half of the table!

---

Round 26 is online now, with the matches kicking off on Saturday. Have a go! Once again, thank you all for playing!

9 minutes ago, DangerousSausage said:

and @Fan of Big Tone has almost reached the top half of the table!

only another 69 points to catch @super_ram, I’ve given him a head start but he’ll soon start looking over his shoulder. 

It’s sad from a nostalgic point of view as Palmer, Austin and JJ are the last men standing from our promotion team. That team is like a distant memory now!

But from a footballing point of view, it’s probably the right decision. He’s still unproven at this level, and we’ll never know if he’s properly over his injury. It can take years to get back to feeling your best for some players. No idea how he’ll do at Carlisle, but it won’t be easy as they are a poor team. He's had a rough year so I wish him all the best and hope a move closer to home makes him happier.

Wish him all the best, and going to work for his old manager might be just the pickup he needs to really get his career going again. Without the injuries I’m sure we would have has another great striker on our books because he had the game and finishing ability for it. Carlisle could be the right club as I’m sure he will get the game time, he just needs an early goal.

1 hour ago, menzinho said:

It’s sad from a nostalgic point of view as Palmer, Austin and JJ are the last men standing from our promotion team.

Don’t forget Sam Slocombe is also still at the club, at least until the end of the season.

Cedwyn didn't lead the line for us in L2 like I hoped he would, but as far as I'm concerned he's a club hero. I hope he succeeds in everything he does.

On our side, with Morias' loan being extended and now this, I'm expecting at least one new striker to arrive this month.

Have a great day @Piethagoram,Happy birthday(are you catching me up ?)

Sorry, I missed this but happy belated birthday, @Piethagoram.

Oops, missed it. Only 363 days to your next birthday @Piethagoram 

I think he got a league winners medal despite being recalled in August. He deserved one after being a big part of their success. He'll score goals in League Two. 

Looks very promising, although I don't think I've seen him play before. Hopefully it won't be the usual case of taking 3 months to 'embed him into our system' before we see him. 

Very pleased with this. A player I've been keeping an eye on for a while. He played in the striker role when Shelbourne played a 3/5 at the back formation and on the wing when they played a 4-2-3-1. 

Shels arguably would've won the League of Ireland earlier last season if Jarvis hadn't been recalled. He definitely has a high ceiling and himself, Grant, Ness and Macari are players who can step up and develop further. 

Here is some of his percentages in different aspects of his game from his spell at Shels last season in the League of Ireland. Made by Will from WT Analysis