I don’t think suing them will stop Treads. It might make them compete harder and force better changes out of them. Elon Musk isn’t a very well-liked man at the moment.

Elon Musk will just threaten Mark Zuckerberg. This could drag on for years, and they both just need to do their own thing in the meantime. I can’t see it being settled quickly.

Is Elon Musk hoping the US court system will halt the progress of Threads, or just slow it down? My money’s on Mark Zuckerberg. Despite his flaws, he knows what he’s doing and will make Musk look desperate.

I have no plans for tomorrow. I suspect the rain will mean it will be a cosy and relaxing day, spent sitting in front of my TV watching whatever takes my fancy. Like many others here, I went to the friendly against Stoke on Saturday, and on Friday I was working.

I had a quiet weekend; I went to the Stoke City friendly. I didn’t do much else; today, I just caught up on a lot of things while staying at home.

On Saturday, I went to see the friendly against Notts. On Sunday, I worked overtime and finished around 4 pm. Lately, all I seem to be doing is working. I have no complaints because I know that having a job is something I am fortunate to have.

Thanks for all the responses, this is a good read! And a bad one at the same time...

My completely worthless thoughts:

Our entire game is based around being on the front foot and in control. So it's maybe not a surprise we got a kicking, especially when you consider our experimential back line.

Speaking of experimental back lines, it's a shame we couldn't use this game as a dress rehearsal, but it's too early in pre season for that. Shame really. There's no way we'll play like that in the league.

It's disappointing we gave them so many gifts at the back, we wouldn't have got away with that in the NL either. But here's the reality check: we've just been promoted back to the Football League, Stoke are gunning for the Premier League. However frustrating and disappointing it feels, LW will have learned a lot more yesterday than he wound have if we'd spent the day whipping a Northern Premier League team 7-0.

i think slocombe years of experience cant yet be compared to stone, he did well and saved some efforts a lot of keepers may struggle with. hes confident and stands up to mistakes, most goals were caused due to the defence. its hard for a young keeper who might not be that ready to face a good stoke side with so many problems in front of him. i believe he will come good.

mahovo has been poor in both friendlies but fair play to williams for trying to still give him time.

i think if matt palmer/john bostock and our usual back 5 were to play we would have coped a lot better.

i am not concerned, i think the issues would show playing a team that high above us.

In my line of work we say a near miss is a gift, as nobody got hurt and the environment wasn't damaged, but we can learn a lot to prevent a future event which could be far worse.  I look at Pre Season Friendlies in the same way.  They are an opportunity to learn and correct before points are on the line.  In this way the score is irrelevant, it's the amount of information and lessons you can extract from the experience.  I didn't go, so can't comment on the actual game, but I would have thought that Stoke and Forest were chosen as PSFs for precisely the reason that we would learn a lot.  We need to be severely tested and exposed, to see who copes and where the gaps are.  Stoke provided just that test (and hopefully Forest), and that has to be a positive. It's also a long time since the side has faced another team who had the upper hand, and to then have to work out what to do about it.  The side now knows the standards they need to aim for, and what they can't get away with.

I would imagine LW has a better idea of who will step up, who will find it harder and what to coach over the coming weeks.  He will have been given a good examination of his tactics, and if he is the coach we think he is, he will look at those issues Stoke exposed and work on them and adapt the plan accordingly.  It is unlikely we will get such an examination outside the cup games, (and even then, these days that's doubtful), so surely this needs to be welcomed?

It's much better than facing a NLN / S side, having a walk in the park and learning nothing about the side or the tactics / system. 

Many times during our 'dark years' in L2 we could barely muster 3.5k for midweek games and 4.5k for Saturday gamed. Now we'll have circa 6k season ticket holders, it really is an improvement and reflective of the work have done to better our style of play. 

This is astonishing. I don't understand how anyone can expect us to shift more, this is surely beyond all expectations.

For context, in our last season in League One, our average crowd was 5300. That's the whole crowd, including away fans. The two previous seasons we had 5500. We were relieved when the gates for midweek matches had a 4 in front of them. Now we could be heading for our best attendances in 30 years. 

I thought more people would be at the Stoke game yesterday, so selling over 5,000 season tickets is a good thing. I don’t see the number getting much higher, but that’s not to suggest it isn’t a good thing. In fact, it’s excellent.

Welcome to PoN, I hope you settle in well and enjoy being a member @Bigrossco1862.

Hello, @Bigrossco1862. Welcome to the PON site! Take a seat and join in with us.

Hello, @Bigrossco1862. It's good to see that you have joined us. PON is a good site, join in and have some fun.

Hello, welcome to PON @MagpieLane. I am a new member but its great to see someone else like me joining in.  

Hello, welcome to PON. As you can see @MagpieLane. People here say hi and greet you.

Hello, @MagpieLane. It's good to see that you have joined us. PON is a good site, join in and have some fun.

Welcome to the site, community and Notts site that is the Pride of Nottingham, @Stuart jackson.

Hello, @Stuart jackson. I am new here myself and I find it a very good place to read, if you decide to read more, just remember if and when you do feel like commenting it will break the ice. Everyone has been most friendly. Good luck with PON.

Hello, @Stuart jackson. It's good to see that you have joined us. PON is a good site, join in and have some fun.

Hello, @HarryNCFC0. Welcome to the site and PON, I hope you like it.

Hi @HarryNCFC0, I am glad you have found your way into PON. Welcome from me.

Hello, @HarryNCFC0. It's good to see that you have joined us. PON is a good site, join in and have some fun.

Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Notts County! (I was singing this, and my grandson Harvey pipes up "No Nana, thats the Gala Bingo song" 

@magpiejue He knows his stuff though.

Oh oh oh oh, everywhere we go,

Watching super County, putting on a show.

Welcome to PON, @NottsCountyKev.

Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham, @NottsCountyKev.

Thank you for all the welcome messages, it's a nice touch from you all.

James Maddison is not only a star on the field but also a role model off of it. Many players can learn from his kindness and respect towards his fellow players.

It's incredibly touching to witness Jodi Jones' reaction, trying to play it cool but clearly moved by Maddison's act of kindness.

I think its a very kind gesture of him to give his shirt to Jodi

Welcome to Pon!

Hello, @nottsfan81. Welcome to PON.

Keep jumping in with your opinion, we are eager to see what members think.

Hello, @nottsfan81. Welcome to PON, you won't regret signing up.

Shola Ameobi

i was praying nobody had said him because its the only one that came to mind, despite knowing quite a few of the earlier mentioned players.

Tom Ince is the only remaining player that I can think of that has a connection Stoke/Notts.

Carl Muggleton was our goalkeeper coach after he retired from football.

Trajectories in football can be highly unpredictable, with underdogs often putting up a good fight. Reading all your estimations has been fascinating. I agree that a little consideration should be given to teams that have invested in their squads, such as Gillingham. 

I think all teams he has mentioned their all are top top teams who have the quality to get out of this league. Their are also teams that haven't been mentioned such as Gillingham. 

This league is another really tough one and we can't take any team for granted 

Much of the fun in anticipating the upcoming football season comes from discussions such as this one. The range of teams and players being analysed serves as a thrilling preliminary guide to expectations revolving around the League Two scenarios. 

The implicit and explicit factors influencing games and points gathered are multitudinous, and it's fascinating how these can be manipulated or capitalised upon by different teams. For instance, the heavy investment in playing budget by Gillingham, this could be a strategic move that catapults them into a favourable position in the standings. Alternatively, it may prove to be an overcompensation that doesn't yield the expected returns.

@AmericanPie I won't be deactivating twitter right away due to the fact that there are many accounts I like to check out every now and again that aren't on either insta or threads. Maybe when all the accounts I have interest in move over and the app works well than it might be a to do. 

I think Meta will force Elon Musk’s hand when his site’s shares start to fall and people start demanding changes, but the things he has implemented don’t work or bring in the big bucks that he wants. I think he will end up losing more money due to decisions to turn the site into a paywall.

Hopefully, Meta will not give up on this and will keep some of the idiots and trolls out of the platform. I don’t like Twitter because it’s not very well moderated, if at all.

Welcome @JackMagpie95 to PON, keep having your say on things.  

Welcome to the PON website, it's a nice place here @JackMagpie95.

Keep posting @JackMagpie95, welcome to PON.

Hello, @BigTom91. Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham.

Please don't be a stranger.

On 01/07/2023 at 22:52, BigTom91 said:

Thank you! I’ll certainly be using this site on a regular basis 

Welcome, it's a nice place to talk and everyone is very friendly. You can share your thoughts easily @BigTom91.

Hello, welcome to PON @BigTom91. I think you will like the site if you continue to post and visit.

Thanks @Wilfordpie I’m glad it’s only a loan.

Good move him, he's at an age now where he needs all the game time he can get (if he's not going to get it with us). I've got high hopes for him in the future, he looks very promising for someone so young. I'm sure he'll do well there.

And the season ends in November in Ireland, so there's potential for another loan in January too if his game time will be limited again.

Best wishes to him, now it's confirmed. I am glad he's not leaving Notts for good, has he has a lot of potential.

I’ve also subscribed to your blog. I used to frequently read members’ blogs, such as those by @Piethagoram, @Chris, and @DangerousSausage. Good luck, @TheSkipper.

I am your 10th blog follower; @TheSkipper. I will look out for your entries and make sure that I take a moment to leave you a comment.

I couldn’t start my blog without doing an interview with the Pride of Nottingham’s gaffer, Chris. I enjoyed learning about his story and more about the site’s early days. Give it a read!

Manchester United should clear out a lot of the players and rebuild properly. They have rushed signings, and I think for them to rival City, Liverpool, and Arsenal, they need to find players who can reconnect with their fan base. I am not suggesting all, but David De Gea is certainly one of them that needs a fresh challenge.

Doubt Utd will reconnect with their fan base until the Glazers are finally out of the club. 
I’ve seen reports that United have bid for Onana, who I think is a pretty average keeper. De Gea’s performances have dropped off the last 2 to 3 years,  before that he was their  player of the year for several seasons running and fully deserved it at the time.  The issue now is that he’s not the best with his feet, which  Ten Hag needs for his style of play. Time for him to walk away and sign for a club that actually wants him?

Yes, United needs new owners for things to change, but their fans have always been the fickle type that only cares about winning. I do think they have some awful owners, but not as bad as many other clubs. They are willing to invest, and someone might say they have to do this because they’ll lose money when or if they do sell, but Manchester United will always be sellable to a rich investor provided they are in the upper half of the Premier League.

Family is everything, isn’t it, @super_ram? It’s really nice of you to help and provide @cheeky~k8 with what she needs. I hope karma comes back to you and brings you the happiness you deserve

On 16/06/2023 at 21:51, super_ram said:

You are right about being told off but  it's  very good of you to publicly thank me.It's also completely unnecessary as I know you don't take my help (or anyone elses) for granted.I know Cheeky gets on to you not to ask for help but ignore her (like you usually do)Lol

Now you're` both going to be told off when you come round !!!!!

@super_ram

Just accept that it means a lot to both of them, it’s an honourable gesture and you can see how much it means. I would nod and tip my hat if I were wearing one.

Isn't the hype around celebrities a reflection of our own fascination with fame and fortune? Well, maybe not us but most people in general.

Oh, I refused to write mundane stories when I was sent out by my university. Did I get told off? No, they actually hired me after six months and allowed me to focus on writing items about health trends, interviews, and whatnot. None of the mindless things 14-22-year-olds leap up; I won’t say what type or gender, but it’s obvious.

The term 'celebrity' has indeed taken on a broader connotation now. With platforms like TikTok and YouTube, anyone with a unique skill, lucky break, or an entertaining persona can gain instant stardom. It makes me wonder if we, as consumers of content, are redefining what it means to be a celebrity today. Irrespective of our personal feelings about them, celebrities, by virtue of their massive social reach, undeniably influence our lives, ideas, and consumption patterns. 

All involved need to walk away and stop writing; it’s an awful report and story. No effort at all.

I think its just an odd story to then promote something else, which is definetly not how you would approach somes accident no matter how major or minor.

I am glad I turned down working for the Nottingham Post; they lowballed me with wages that I was earning more with the job I got through university. They also wanted me to work more hours, but I know some people who were studying with me that have gone on to work for the same company, just for different areas, and they can publish directly onto the website with no editor’s interference.

They just tell them what to write and leave them to their own devices. This is pretty much the standard when you get told you need to write six articles every hour just to get paid a decent wage. Everything is better with online companies; the papers rake in money via all their advertising but pay peanuts to journalists.

I have seen it now. He burst onto the scene with Villa in the Premier League. I remember him more from Stoke and Liverpool, but it’s a great documentary. Sometimes, players need to push themselves a bit more, even if it’s hard. Peter Crouch has won people over with his attitude and love for football. He’s really missed in the game. I have enjoyed his World Cup shows in the past.

@NottsTastic Absolutely being himself was what won people over and I agree he's missed in the game. I only remember him from his Villa days due to FIFA 03, used to always be top scorer for them on the game. He often references his dad on his podcast and also in the documentary pushing him because he knew that he'd be there one day. As you say some people just need that push even if it's a hard journey.

As @liampie said, he earned his respect. 

This is a good football documentary; I think they could have included a bit more about the other players who had issues with looking different. I know it’s about Peter Crouch, but I feel it would have been more inspiring than a quick overturn by succeeding at Liverpool after a dry spell. His best decision was to join Stoke City; they got the most out of his career. It’s a good watch; I just have a few personal preferences, but I agree his wife supported him no end.

Has anyone managed to record any goals to he used in Goal of the Month? 

I don't play but am up for voting

I haven’t had time due to work; I am just writing and writing at the moment. I haven’t had much free time to myself, and I want to put work first before gaming or whatever.