20 hours ago, Chris said:

I still don't believe Abbott was at his best or performed well enough. That's just my opinion.

I’m really surprised to read your thought @Chris I genuinely thought Abbott had an excellent game, to me he seemed to be performing far better than any other player. It just goes to show how different people view the same match.

At the end of the day it doesn’t matter who was man of the match because we lost the game sadly.

22 hours ago, Fan of Big Tone said:

I’m really surprised to read your thought @Chris I genuinely thought Abbott had an excellent game, to me he seemed to be performing far better than any other player. It just goes to show how different people view the same match.

At the end of the day it doesn’t matter who was man of the match because we lost the game sadly.

I'm pleased for whoever won, and you are right, we all see things differently at times.

I thought if Will Jarvis had longer on the pitch, he would have warranted more praise in this, and in the short time he was on, I thought he did much better than most of the squad. Unfortunately, Notts fell into Doncaster's game plan in the first half, which was aimed at making us stray passes and lose the ball. I thought George Abbott did okay, but he did lose the ball a lot. I mean, I can remember him winning the ball well, and from nothing, but then passing upfield straight to a Doncaster player. It was just an off day in terms of the players shining with their quality, as a team they did okay and were much better in the second half.

Notts greatly felt the absence of David McGoldrick, as his presence and leadership elevate the entire team's performance and motivation.

I thought Austin did well when he came on. I think Notts missed him during his injury & he was playing very well beforehand too.

I hope Austin will be fit enough to start against Wimbledon. He could make a lot of difference for us.

Well now that Bass is back this must go down as one of the most pointless signings ever. I can't believe we signed him just in-case Slocombe got injured, the chances of that happening were so slim but even if did happen we could’ve then loaned in an emergency keeper... I feel like we’ve just wasted money and Tyler’s time here…

I don't understand how Slocombe was picked before Miller but as soon as Bass returns Slocombe becomes number three behind Miller. Some of the decisions do seem a bit bizarre.

He didn't make the bench against Doncaster.  Maybe we are saving him for the playoffs 🤔 🤷 

I don't recall any home game this season that I have witnessed Notts being outclassed or not deserving something from the game. I think my biggest concern is how Stuart Maynard doesn't push for a second goal to wrap games up or at least make them easier. This past Monday, it was obvious that we were in control and just needed something a bit different to convert one of the many chances we created.

Yes, we could have won 1-0 on Easter Monday, but there's always the element that a team might sting us.

I spoke to Jake (@super_pie) about this, and I told him I would have taken Kellan Gordon off for Jodi Jones instead of Conor Grant. He mentioned that he would rather have brought on Will Jarvis and not play Jodi at all due to fears of injury. I get the point, but we are heading into a crucial stage where he really needs match minutes, and his confidence with a return to form would be massive. Gordon has a decent cross, but he runs himself into danger and becomes a bit frustrating to watch because you know he has the ability to do more.

I think all season Maynard hasn't particularly used his subs well, but away from home I do think more often it's about positive changes. Except for Carlisle United, where we went defensive beyond a point, it was long balls for Jevani Brown to chase.

There's a lot of talk by the club on how good a coach Maynard is, but I wish we could see it more during games, and especially at home. We either go defensive, or overload ourselves with attacking options.

We rescued a point against Fleetwood Town earlier in the season, but I think we started with the wrong XI and I don't believe the changes in the game influenced our comeback. If anything, I felt at the time a change was needed to handle Fleetwood, who wasn't great but deserved their lead. The 0-1 loss to Gillingham, for me, is a prime example of how we could have got more from the game. Their only goal still annoys me, but Notts could have done much better.

Despite all this, I do think Maynard has done well at times, but I wished I could see more improvements with the changes. I swear he listens to fans, as when he would make 3 to five changes at once, he's now reverted to the 70th minute mark. We would have beaten Cheltenham if we had brought Jodi on earlier and injected a bit more quality.

There have been factors such as injuries, fitness, and other concerns which haven't helped, and I do believe at this level, most managers have negatives which become irritating, but Notts have played some good football this season at Meadow Lane. The club looks much better defensively, and finally our recruitment strengthened the areas we wished for. I do think it's a juggling act for Maynard though, and I hope we can secure a playoff place because I do think it would be a good achievement. I know we could have kept nearer the top, but with all the injuries and so on, it would have taken more than what this squad has. If we don't get promoted, I firmly believe we will be able to build and strengthen the squad to a point where we will be in the running again in the next campaign.

I imagine there’s a lot more pressure on Stuart Maynard and the lads at home. I don’t think the KOP has been the same this year compared to our first season back in the EFL. I feel that togetherness left when Luke Williams departed and Maynard came in. I don’t think Maynard is doing much wrong and believe he’ll improve given time.

It can be frustrating when managers make baffling decisions, but we’re not a million miles away from where we want to be. Our home form is likely due to the pressure of expecting promotion, the dip in form from losing key players, and the constant challenge of avoiding further injuries. I haven’t attended away games, so I can’t comment on the atmosphere this season. However, it felt special when we first came back up, and I feel some areas give half-hearted support.

Maybe it’s just football and the sensationalism fading after promotion, but some clubs make match days exciting. It feels as though we’ve settled for a normal experience without much effort. From what I’ve seen, Notts have always looked like a promotion-chasing side. At times they’ve seemed lacking or indecisive, but all teams go through these phases.

I hope that if we make the playoffs, fans will make Meadow Lane vibrant and loud with various chants. The quality of chants and player songs seems to have declined, becoming repetitive. As fans, our role is to give full-hearted support. Tactically, Maynard could sometimes make changes to influence games differently. Still, we need to accept that he’s learning. At this level, unless we spend heavily on a manager which affects the playing budget, we won’t find someone perfect in every aspect of their game.

Notts have been relatively consistent all season. 

After 23 games Notts had gained 37 points & stood in seventh place in League 2, & they had won 10 matches up to that point.

From the next 23 games Notts have gained 35 points & finished in sixth place,& won a further 10 matches.

11 minutes ago, Fan of Big Tone said:

Let’s get promoted first then worry about it. 😉

Nothing wrong in debating whether Notts are fully prepared for League 1. If Notts were promoted there would certainly need to be improvements in certain areas to allow Notts to compete at a higher level.

7 hours ago, Robbie said:

Nothing wrong in debating whether Notts are fully prepared for League 1.

@Robbie I didn’t say it’s wrong to debate it, I’m joining the debate by saying let’s wait until we are promoted before worrying about whether we’ll survive league one or not.

I’m sure the club will have contingency plans for if we are promoted and also plans if we aren’t promoted.

There's a typo in this thread.

Somebody has spelt 'Two' wrong.

12:30 pm Kick offs

Wimbledon 0-2 Port Vale

Doncaster 2-1 Bradford 

Doncaster & Port Vale promoted.

15:00 Kick offs

Chesterfield 4-1 Morecambe 

MK Dons 0-0 Grimsby 

Salford City 4-1 Colchester

Walsall 0-1 Accrington 

Notts are assured of a playoff place.

These are the final matches that could affect Notts's final position in league 2, & who they may face in the playoffs.

Saturday 3rd May

Accrington 0-1 Chesterfield 

Bradford 1-0 Fleetwood 

Carlisle 2-2 Salford 

Colchester 0-0  Barrow 

Crewe 0-1 Walsall 

Grimsby 0-1 Wimbledon 

Port Vale 0-1 Gillingham 

Three dangerous teams failed to make the playoffs on the last day. Salford, Grimsby Colchester.

Hopefully, we won't be playing them if we get promoted. If we do have to play them next season I'm sure it will be two hard competitive games. 

We've also seen clubs coming down from League 1 & struggle such as Forest Green last season & Carlisle this term being relegated to the National League.

Remember this one?

Incidentally can anyone remember why we used to sing that song? I think it was a match where we put the ball out for a throw in because a Bristol Rovers was injured but they didn’t give us the ball back and scored after taking the throw in or something along those lines. Anyone remember the actual chain of events?

Retford FC win their semi against Clipstone FC & will now play in the final at home to Blackstones FC from Peterborough, who beat Retford United in their semi final.

In the United Counties Premier Division North, AFC Mansfield lost their semi final to Bourne Town 0-4.

Bourne Town will play Boston FC in the final 

Boston FC beat Eastwood CFC in the semi final 2-1.

Worksop Town are one match from the National League North. 

They beat Ashton United in the playoff semi final tonight 2:1

I agree @CliftonMagpie the club shouldn’t offer a contract purely on sentimental grounds, there is no loyalty in football and as you say players are quick to go elsewhere if a better offer comes along.

Contracts should be given purely on the players contribution to the club now and in the future not on past achievements.

I still hope he’s welcome to train and use our facilities to help his comeback. However, I don’t believe we should offer him a one-year deal. Would Woking do it? I doubt it. I wish Adam Chicksen all the best, and I hope his injury doesn’t lead to financial problems. Many players have other sources of income, and hopefully Chicks does too.

pleased to see adam chicksen listed as a notts player here on pon, unlike the club itself. clearly hes on the way out, and its such a shame because he could fit our system quite well if stuart maynard could get the best out of him. i do agree he has flashes of brilliance and struggles, i think its confidence but i dont think we owe him anything. i also would not expect woking to sign him permanently knowing he has the injury.

its unfortunate for chicksen, but i do wish him well and until his contract expires he is a notts player.

I don't know whether he'd have got us promoted, but he laid the foundation for our promotion-winning season by switching to a system with wing-backs and adopting a more attacking style rather than Ardley's safety first approach. So I believe he played his part, but we've moved on and so did he.

Since the brothers are involved with clubs other than Notts, he's be daft not to stay in touch, but I wouldn't be thrilled to see him back.

Ian Burchnall did an adequate job during his time with Notts, but he wasn’t exceptional. He left the club for what he described as a "project" with Forest Green Rovers, jumping at the first opportunity to manage an EFL team. While I understand managers moving on, the way he left felt abrupt, and joining a struggling League One side wasn't a great career move. His tenure there reinforced that it was the wrong decision. While it’s nice he has fond memories of Notts, we’ve moved forward. I wouldn't welcome him back, just as I wouldn’t wish to see Luke Williams, Kevin Nolan, or Harry Kewell return.

he was not the worst manager, i do not get the hate towards neal ardley he stuck with notts during a point where nobody was being paid and he was a good person for helping place notts back on track. ian burchnall gets too much credit for the change in philosophy and recruitment which happened above his position. he did well to coach the team, but he was far from perfect. people said ardley would setup in hope for a draw, burchnall was worse because he would remove any hope of getting a point by bringing defenders at the cost of forwards and to do anything you needed changes at the other end. i do dislike the way he left, and his interviews because i thought he was quite dull and boring. as for saying fond things about his time here, its nice but we have moved on. he needs to let it be, as any credit of where notts are now from his time is very limited.

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 was the right call to make those changes. Politics doesn’t really have a place on a football site, and the arguments often distract from meaningful discussions. If political debates weren’t so intense, it might be interesting to hear people’s views, but most are too emotionally invested in their opinions for that to happen.

The poll has now closed.

I'm pleased to announce that David McGoldrick is the Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match v Harrogate.

Sorry for not voting, I hadn't watched the game or listened to the radio coverage. I had planned to go to The Nest with my friends, but obviously that got cancelled due to Notts not being on Sky.

Pleased to see the votes, and David McGoldrick earning the fans support for his performance.

It's great to have secured a playoff place, which every player majorly contributed towards, but Didzy is a different class this season.

Well done to David McGoldrick. He has made a huge difference this season, and his multiple Man of the Match awards prove it.

Be funny if that goal didn’t win our goal of the season (I think it will though). Our shortlist will basically be a Didzy show-reel with Abbott’s Accrington and Cheltenham goals.

I think he can count himself a tad unfortunate not to win League 2's Young Player of the Season. Now, I’m not dissing Nathan Lowe who is a great player, but surely the winner should be a player who has actually played the whole season in League 2 🤷‍♂️

@menzinho I think football politics was behind Lowe winning it. Abbott being loaned out to Notts from a Premier League Club may have been a factor too, why he wasn't considered, although I hope it wasn't the case.

I’m happy he won, but I wonder how many people actually watched all the goals and how they were narrowed down. It was a brilliant strike, and the way the ball fell made it feel destined to hit the back of the net. Still, I think we’ve seen better goals, especially those with stronger build-up. David McGoldrick’s efforts this season have been outstanding, and it will be interesting when voting opens, assuming Notts doesn’t influence it too much. I wouldn't say George Abbott’s goal is the club’s best this season, but I’m delighted he won the EFL award.

they put a video out showing the worst decisions of the referee ahead of the game, how can a club get away with being this unprofessional? a manager or player cant bring the game into dispute but a club the size of real madrid can. its mad!!

I don't like Real Madrid or Barcelona, both are teams who feel they can bully decisions due to their size, and really it's because of the money involved with those higher up. Real Madrid have several players who are a disgrace to football. Vinicius Junior, for example, he has such a bad attitude, is quite selfish and resorts to cheating tactics if the team isn't winning. I don't mean just diving, or other dark arts, but getting in the faces of the opposition, pushing buttons, and even trying to cause riots with opposition fans. He is someone I used to like to watch, but not any more.

Real Madrid aren't a team that I really like anymore. I think they act like they are football, rather than a football club.

Real Madrid, like other big clubs, seem to get away with too much. No club should be allowed to act in a way that damages the integrity of the game, and the same goes for players. Decisions must be respected, but clubs like Real and Manchester City often behave as if their global status makes them untouchable. It’s the people within these clubs who fail to uphold professionalism.

Yes they’ve done a great job I’d like to see them here next season whatever league we are in.

David McGoldrick has had a remarkable season and could end it on a high note by clinching the League Two Golden Boot. It would be fitting given that this might be one of his final seasons. Whether he continues for another year remains uncertain, but he's certainly shown he's capable. Alassana Jatta has also been pivotal in our push for promotion, and it's wonderful to see him gaining recognition by representing Gambia as a Notts player. I wish them both the best in their race to finish as the top scorer.

They have pretty much carried the team in terms of goal-scoring this season. Jodi despite barely playing all season is our 3rd top scorer with 5... That's quite a drop off. Whatever league we are in next season we do need other players to step up a bit when it comes to putting the ball into the back of the net.

It's never over till it's over @ARLukomski.I'm not taking anything for granted.

Hold your horses @ARLukomski, we've had a few people get 15 points this season. And there's a non-zero chance of my laptop blowing up and me having to make up some numbers on the final day!

The results:

Hull City 0-1 Derby County
Preston North End 1-2 Plymouth Argyle
Burton Albion 2-1 Cambridge United
Crawley Town 3-0 Northampton Town
Fleetwood Town 2-0 Newport County
Salford City 4-1 Colchester United
Boston United 2-1 Gateshead
Forest Green Rovers 1-0 Oldham Athletic

---

Congratulations to @Dan, who wins his second round in the last three!

---

This is what our league table looks like heading into the final game. @super_ram leads @ARLukomski by 11 points, @Robbie looks set for third unless I find some points down the back of the sofa, and some positions look up for grabs in the lower half of the top ten...

---

And on that bombshell, I'll sign off for this round. The final round of fixtures will be posted by Wednesday. See you all then for the final instalment!

A  Pesata in the leccy meter will cure it!!!!!

3 minutes ago, Robbie said:

@Fan of Big Tone

Hopefully Man City will be in the United Counties league next season if they are found guilty of the 115 charges against them.

Whether it's Forest or any other team, I hope City are dumped out of the FA Cup. It's not good for Football if they get to another final.

@Robbie I can see your point but I do think our disdain for those over the Trent should take precedence over any other considerations. 😂

@Fan of Big Tone

I don't have disdain for Forest, I just want Notts to beat them every time we play them. That's good enough for me. And I'm sure the powers that be at Notts feel the same.

Seems that City have taken an early lead

It's been a nice warm day here. Felt like the warmest day of the year here so far.

It was a lovely day for taking a walk with the Mrs. 

Update.

Update.

Notts County Women are held to a 2-2 draw in their final league game of the season.

Final FA Women's National League Div 1 Midlands Table 2024/25

Loughborough promoted.

Solihull & Nettleham (Lincoln City) relegated.

Record points total & League position for Notts Women since their relaunch as a club.

They are both absolutely  deserving to be in the League 2 team of the season. 35 goals between them for Notts. They have both played wonderfully well for Notts this season.

But this award is not just for David & Allasana, those two winning this award reflects too on how well the whole Notts squad have contributed to their success & the big improvement we've seen in the Notts performance this season.

A big PoN welcome from me too @DizzyBala.Now dip yer bread and joini in.

Hello, @DizzyBala. Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham. It's great to have you amongst us in our community. I hope you find the site to be useful. See you around!

hello, @DizzyBala. welcome to pon. i hope to see you joining in and having fun here. pleased you are a part of our community.

It’s sad to hear the news. I saw a clip of a young boy interrupting some ceremony or something similar, but Pope Francis didn’t seem to mind. He looked at the boy the way a grandfather might, with warmth and understanding. I hope he finds inner peace and rests easily.

Pope Francis was a very popular Pope. The Vatican has reported that over 250,000 people have filed past his body in a massive showing of respect for him.

Pope Francis's funeral will be held tomorrow.

rest in peace, pope francis.

Day three awaits at Trent Bridge.

Lunch has been taken after the last Sussex wicket has fallen.

Sussex are 278 all out.

Notts need 148 to win.

A win for Nottinghamshire by 9 wickets.

They reach their victory target of 148 runs for just one wicket down.

Hameed and Duckett both finish with half centuries.

League 2 table after today's matches.

Notts are assured of a playoff place.

A much better 2nd half performance from Notts, where we took full control and in the end, deserved our victory. The first half was poor from our point of view. Good save by Belshaw to deny Jatta, but we made some silly errors. One which lead to us clearing one off of the line and the other just about being scrambled away at the last second. Our goal came from a good run forward by Gordon, where he took two men on and won us a throwing. From there we built up and Didzy's shot was saved, but Abbott reacted quickest. The goal we conceded was poor. Route one, straight down the middle, we don't deal with it and it's poked home.

Once again, we only properly perform for one half, but this time the 2nd half was much better. A higher intensity, where Gordon and Jones were pushed higher up to pin Harrogate back and both were a lot more direct when given the chance to take on their man. So many more forward passes, as shown in our 2nd goal. Platt passes forward to Bedeau, who passed forward to Jones (in the half space), who zips the ball across goal. I have no idea how Jatta misses, but Grant is there. The 3rd goal again showcases our improved intensity and directness, where quick forward passes result in Gordon getting in behind, crossing to Grant, who takes his time and his shot deflects in to kill the game.

If we had performed like we did in the 2nd half today, over the course of the season and being consistent, then we wouldn't have to be relying on Fleetwood and Crewe heading into the final day. It's the time where we look back on games that have cost us. Cheltenham (H), Chesterfield (H), Newport (H), Crewe (H), Barrow (H), Bromley (H), Colchester (H and A) and Vale (A). All games where we either missed chances, poor performances, lack of ruthlessness, slow intensity and little urgency have cost us. 

The fact we've taken down to the final day is quite remarkable. It hasn't felt like a promotion season at all. Performances have been unconvincing and mediocre for most of the season, but it's not just us. Everyone else has. Donny and Vale have had the most consistent runs of form in the run in, but even they have had times like it. We've been let off so many times because of how poor and inconsistent other teams have been, but they've been let off by us, because of the same reasons. 

I know I have seem frustrated with SM, the players and most recently the board a few times over recent weeks but it's because I want the best. Despite being inconsistent for a lot of the season, I know this team can be better than the way we have performed and I knew that back in October/November. I knew he wasn't going after Salford away because he still had/has a lot of time left on his deal. The Barrow home game made me feel so annoyed because of our performance. I knew we'd lose at Wimbledon that Saturday and I was fed up with us and how we were playing. Then Grimsby, Chezzy and Crewe gave us ups, downs and frustration, but everyone else was doing their best to not get promoted as well. Then we put in a good performance for 90 against Newport and a 45 minute job against MK in which was a sweet win. Then the Colchester loss deflated me so much and in the days after, I felt demoralised and fed up again, because the performance was bad and I thought that was our automatic chances gone and I had no hope of us winning the play-offs because of our record against other teams and how we don't turn up in big games. This deflated feeling carried on into Salford, Bradford and Cheltenham and despite getting a point from Valley Parade, it felt too little, too late. Then we kept getting offered lifeline after lifeline and somehow we've found ourselves with the most outside shot of outside shots of getting 3rd. 

The perfectly imperfect football club is once again proving that 2006 survey correct.

An impressive 3 points and somehow we are still in with a shout of automatic promotion. The unpredictability of League 2 has kept us on the edge of seats and I suspect there's a few more twists and turns to come. 

Injury situation after the Salford match.

1.Scott Robertson.

2.Lucas Ness

3. Sam Austin 

4. Alex Bass 

Just four players still recovering from injury. Best we've seen for some time.

More bad news on the injury front.

Nick Tsaroulla will be out for the rest of the season due to surgery on his appendix.

Number of players injured as we go into the Harrogate match.

1. Scott Robertson.

2. Lucas Ness

3. Sam Austin 

4. Nick Tsaroulla 

5. Adam Chicksen 

A sad story

It's more "tiresome and predictable" than sad @Piethagoram. KFC Uerdingen (unfortunately not nicknamed the chickens) seem to go through this cycle where they go on a wild spending spree with money they don't have, go bankrupt, and once they've dumped their debt they start again. This is something like their fifth insolvency. They shouldn't have been allowed in the Regionalliga. This just means they'll be playing a division lower next season, where they were last season anyway.

They were also in the third division a few years back, with a Russian investor promising to get them back to the Bundesliga. I don't need to tell you how it ended.

Back in the 80s this club was incidentally Bayer Uerdingen, until Bayer withdrew and decided to focus on Leverkusen instead.