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    I agree with these posters.

    Having been watching football for over 55 years I have seen a decade by decade improvement in the standard of football over all the four top divisions and the top tier of non league.

    The top six teams challenging for promotion from League 2 this year could easily compete in the 2nd tier of 25 years ago in my opinion.

    And I believe the Premier League has lifted this standard all round, although there remains a big gulf between Premier League & the Championship.

    We are probably the nearest we will ever be to total football in this Notts side with so many players changing positions on the pitch during the game. We are basically now playing 3-6-0 with the 6 being broken down into several different formations throughout the game and Bostock at times dropping into the back line to collect the ball or for when either Brindley or Cameron move forward.

    We still need to strengthen the back line as soon as possible, but this must surely be the top priority now and I’m intrigued as to who it may be.

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    On 30/12/2023 at 12:11, Robbie__64 said:

    Having been watching football for over 55 years I have seen a decade by decade improvement in the standard of football over all the four top divisions and the top tier of non league.

    This is very true, League 2 today is a world away from what it was when we were relegated into it in the late 90s. The standard then is more akin to today's National League.

    Some of the players we have and the football we are playing are out of this world, enjoy every minute of it!

As we all know, the true meaning of Christmas is to have lots of football. So we have another round of games on Friday! These all kick off at 7.45pm, and don't forget those jokers!

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Coventry City v Swansea City

Millwall v Norwich City

Bristol Rovers v Charlton Athletic

Burton Albion v Shrewsbury Town

Cheltenham Town v Reading

Harrogate Town v Tranmere Rovers

Newport County v Crewe Alexandra

Salford City v Grimsby Town

Albert William FisherΒ (Feb 1881 – 4 Dec 1937) was an English professional footballer who scored 23 goals from 56 appearances inΒ the Football LeagueΒ playing as anΒ inside forwardΒ forΒ Aston Villa,Β Bristol City & Manchester City. He also played forΒ Southern LeagueΒ clubsΒ Brighton & Hove Albion,Β Bradford Park Avenue,Β Queens Park Rangers,Β Coventry CityΒ andΒ Merthyr Town.

AsΒ player-manager, he led Merthyr Town to the Southern League Second Division title in 1911/12.

Albert joined Notts County as Secretary Manager, (that's what they called Managers then), succeeding the previous Manager, Tom Harris in Aug 1913 & Managed the club through World War 1 till May 1927. He guided Notts to the Division 2 title in the 1913/14 and 1922/23 seasons.

In all Albert Managed Notts over 444 matches, winning 167, drawing 114, & losing 163 with a win percentage of 39.62% (source Google)

Albert is another Notts County great that got us promoted twice into the top tier of English Football, & thus cementing his legendary status at our club.

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Game 25 - The Shrimps (H)

Team: Morecambe

Date: 29/12/2023

Where: Meadow Lane



What line-up should Luke Williams opt for? What will be the key areas for the Magpies to get a victory? What do you think the final score will be?

Have your say below, join in with the Pride of Nottingham match discussion.

Dear Community,

We hope this message finds you well. We are excited to share some updates about the Pride of Nottingham site.

Firstly, we have been working diligently on enhancing the performance of our site. We have undertaken extensive optimisation to ensure a smoother and faster experience for all our users. This is an ongoing effort as we strive to make the most of our dedicated server.

We are pleased to announce that regular content updates will resume from today. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this period.

We would also like to extend an invitation to all members to join us in representing Notts via the Pride of Nottingham. Your participation, thoughts, and contributions are what make our community vibrant and engaging.

In other news, we have some exciting new merchandise coming to our store soon. Keep an eye out for new designs, including hoodies, polo shirts, and much more.

Additionally, we are in the process of designing free wallpapers for both mobile and desktop. These will be made available to all members and visitors via our site.

Lastly, we are introducing a scheme similar to Patreon. This is a voluntary initiative aimed at supporting the upkeep of the site. Please rest assured that all members will continue to be valued equally, regardless of their decision to subscribe. Donations are always welcome, but the main goal is to ensure the quality of the Pride of Nottingham continues to thrive with the support of the loyal Notts County fan base.

https://prideofnottingham.co.uk/subscriptions/

Thank you for your continued support and engagement. Here's to moving forward together!

Best,
The Pride of Nottingham Team

Meanwhile

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Well, that’s Christmas over for another year, what was the best present you received this year?

Our son bought us tickets to see a musical in London, including train tickets, so we are looking forward to that.

What was yours?

From Tommy Lawton, Jackie Sewell to Lee Hughes, Notts County has seen its fair share of talented players over the years. Who stands out as the best? What makes him so special to you?

Tom Harris managed our club from 1893 to 1913, a very long period of time for a Club Manager.

They were actually called Secretary Managers in those days.

Tom is the only Notts County Manager that has lifted the FA Cup, winning it in 1894, when Notts defeated Bolton Wanderers 4:1 at Goodison Park.

Notts were actually a Division 2 club when they won the Cup, defeating 3 Top tier sides on the way to their triumph.

Tom also guided Notts to the Division 2 Championship in season 1896/97 and a 3rd place in Division 1 in 1900/01.

Tom is a true legend of Notts County Football Club & his achievement is unique, which puts him equal to all the other great Managers who have served this club.

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    I believe this article carries very heartening news for all Notts fans. To see the club in a position to support a possible rise to the Championship demonstrates that the sustainability model in place is working.

    It will be interesting to see if this model will take us further than the Championship. We have witnessed the seemingly limitless funds of the rich clubs being splashed out on the best players to achieve success.Β 

    It may mean that Notts will look to continue with their shrewd recruitment policy which again has proved very successful, such as recruiting out of contract players & using the loan system to our advantage.

    If a big offer came in for one of our best players, would Notts reject it? Well have to wait & see.

    We at Notts known how things turn out when clubs spend beyond their means, so this is very positive news today.Β 

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    8 hours ago, Robbie__64 said:

    It will be interesting to see if this model will take us further than the Championship.

    Let’s take one step at a time, I’m ecstatic that we are back in the league and it looks like we are safe from returning to the National League, I’d love to get into League One at the first time of asking but if not I’d still be happy, talk of the Championship and beyond is a bit premature.

    I’m really happy that Notts have a sustainable plan to take us forward and aren’t looking to sell players, the only worry I have is if we lose Luke Williams to a bigger club, then we get a bad manager who takes us backwards.

The recruitment of loanees has proved successful for Notts.

Take Jorge Grant. Jorge played a season and a half for Notts from the 2017 to May 2018 appearing for Notts 62 times & scoring 21 goals. In his first spell he scored 6 goals and helped save us from relegation. In season 2017/18 his goals helped us to the play offs with a fifth place finish.

The most recent successful loanee story is Jodi Jones who came from Oxford U & played 16 times in our promotion year and scored the winning goal in the playoff to get us to the final. In May 23 Jodi signed permanently on a 2 year contract with Notts, and he's now a regular in our team helping us to push for promotion to league 1 & already has 4 goals to his name this term.

And we will never forget the heroics of Archie Mair, another loanee from Norwich City, in the play off final, saving two Chesterfield penalties in the shootout that proved absolutely vital.

I believe Notts should continue with this policy of recruiting players on loan. It is a good way to assess a player for a possible transfer while he is also doing a job for us. If it doesn't work out the loanee just returns to his club.

This fits very nicely into Notts current 'sustainability' financial policy.

Thoughts?

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    The loanees you mention have been outstanding. And let us not forget Ryan Yates, Jack Grealish and Callum McGregor.

    However, we remember them because they were good. For every smash hit there are at least a couple of flops who are quickly left on the sidelines and forgotten about. But as you say, the risk to us is low when they're brought in to complement what we've got and provide a bit of competition - if it doesn't work out, they go back and it's not the end of the world. It's when you absolutely rely on inexperienced loanees that you run into trouble - I still remember trying to stay in the Football League with two loanee centre halves and a loanee keeper, all still in their teens.

It's the final round of the year! Send in your predictions by 3pm on Boxing Day, and remember those jokers!

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Hull City v Sunderland

Watford v Bristol City

Exeter City v Wycombe Wanderers

Fleetwood Town v Carlisle United

Barrow v Stockport County

Bradford City v Morecambe

Altrincham v Halifax Town

Southend United v Barnet

Game 24 - Rovers (H)

Team: Doncaster Rovers

Date: 26/12/2023

Where: Meadow Lane



What line-up should Luke Williams opt for? What will be the key areas for the Magpies to get a victory? What do you think the final score will be?

Have your say below, join in with the Pride of Nottingham match discussion.

When Notts loses, we fans don’t get to hear from the players, which prevents us from gaining a clear understanding of a player’s thoughts. I realise this is mostly done to protect the players, but for a club that claims to want an open dialogue with the fans and encourages players to connect with the fans, I’m not keen on the club avoiding player interviews just because we lost a match.

Negative comments will appear on social media regardless, and I can’t help but think they could be handled more effectively if done.

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  • I believe that if interviews are conducted after victories, they should also be done after challenging results. To cease them due to a rough patch seems contrary to the message the club has been trying to convey and reminds me of a media blackout. I wouldn’t say it’s always necessary to interview a player, but to stop due to poor form is a poor reflection on the club at a time when we’re supposed to be united.

    I’m with @Robbie__64on this, I don’t really want to hear from a player when he will be quite clearly down, the last thing he wants to hear is criticism. They are normally quizzed about it on the midweek interviews anyway, when they’ve had chance to digest and analyse the defeat.

    Managers are always the only important voice after a defeat anyway and will quite clearly state (unless they’re Phil Parkinson) what went wrong or just how good the opposition played.

I have such great memories of our grand old stadium at Meadow Lane.

I can remember when we played Everton in the FA Cup at home on a wet day in March 1984,Β  standing on the Cop getting wet through. The ground was absolutely packed with 10K Everton fans. We lost to an Andy Gray header he headed in only a few inches off the ground.

When I was a boy I would stand at the front of the Cop, behind the goal. When I grew taller, I would watch Notts standing on the County Road side or pop side. There was a large step at the back of the lower tier that you could get a good view from standing at the half way line if you got a place there.

Spent many years standing. Never sat down until it became all seater.

How many of you remember our old ground and where did you watch the games.

Did you prefer to sit or stand?

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  • Show previous comments  5 more
  • My maternal grandparents were from Bradford and we often stayed there during school holidays.If it was in the football season my dad would take me, and until he wasn't well enough,my grandad, to watchΒ  Bradford Park Avenue ,then a Football League side.This was another ground that was very much like the Baseball ground(in need of TLC).In fact there was a time when I thought all football grounds were the same in style.

    14 minutes ago, super_ram said:

    My maternal grandparents were from Bradford and we often stayed there during school holidays.If it was in the football season my dad would take me, and until he wasn't well enough,my grandad, to watchΒ  Bradford Park Avenue ,then a Football League side.This was another ground that was very much like the Baseball ground(in need of TLC).In fact there was a time when I thought all football grounds were the same in style.

    Agree. Seating was an afterthought in those days. I remember the seats weren't seats but benches. Bucket seats were few and far between.

Wishing all of PoN members a wonderful Christmas

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