This place is one of two places you can have a sensible conversation about Notts, the other is the Notts County mailing list but sadly that’s not very active now.

I do have a Twitter and Facebook account but to be honest it’s depressing trying to have a sensible conversation with some Notts fans on those platforms so I don’t generally bother.

I will always try to promote PoN whenever I can.

I prefer PON because you can have a sensible and grown up conversation on here and everyone treats each other with respect. Something that is sadly lacking at times on X & Facebook.

More than anything else I just love being part of this Community and I'm always looking to contribute to the site.

I'm on X and Facebook and am active on those two social media sites, but it can be a minefield at times and I know they are not everyone's cup of tea.

I will always try to promote PON on those sites too.

I’m really happy to be a member and I enjoy having meaningful chats and debates about Notts. It’s great that we can discuss topics beyond the club, without objections from those who believe a site should only focus on its main subject. I don’t use social media much, I keep it for personal matters and I wouldn’t think about discussing the club there, considering how some people can behave. It’s just not worth the trouble.

i thought notts played well for most parts, sam austin has come into the team determined and he looks eager to stay within the mix. this is exactly what you want to see from players who have not started much but have been on the bench. you want them to take the chance they get, so i am also pleased for austin. robertson is a bit clumsy with his challenges, i could see him walking so i think we need to make quicker decision to pull anyone who may get a red card. normally you can trust players on a yellow to avoid making silly decisions.

sam slocombe was brilliant and its fair to say he did keep notts in the game. he should not take any faults for the two goals that went in, we needed to defend more bravely and plug the gap robertson left by getting sent off. you either lose attacking prowess or defensive cover. we seemed to lose both.  

I don’t think Maynard should be blamed for not subbing Robertson, the player was on a yellow card so common sense should tell him not to pull a player down, it’s not rocket science, as I said in a previous post he is young and will learn but that doesn’t help Notts, they’d done well up to that point, the sending off was definitely a game changer.

As a manager or head coach, you have to be cautious about certain decisions. I wouldn’t entirely blame Maynard, but there’s a point to be made. Robertson came with a fiery reputation, and if you see players losing their cool in games, it’s best to substitute them. The sending off was Robertson’s fault, and it turned the result against us. However, Maynard might need to consider these situations.

If several players are already on a yellow card, it’s harder to decide who to take off to avoid suspensions. If you leave someone on who has a yellow card, then you risk them being sent off. Notts had three players on a yellow card: Robertson, O’Brien, and Slocombe. O’Brien is experienced enough to ensure he won’t be sent off, despite his physical style of play. Slocombe wasn’t likely to see red. Robertson, being young and fiery, always seemed a risk that would warrant a tactical decision to take him out of the game.

Crawley had five yellow cards. Forster and Gordon, who both looked highly likely to receive another card, were taken out of the game. Lolos and Mukena remained, and then Maguire received a yellow card after coming on. I repeat, I wouldn’t completely point the finger at Maynard, but it’s a fair argument that we should have considered substituting Robertson.

1 hour ago, Simon Clark said:

I think we're safe without another point. Sutton need to win 7 of their last 8 to catch up and Forest Green need 5 wins from 9 to catch us but still have to play all of the current top 5, 3 of them away. Although I hope it isn;t a winner takes all final day!!

Play offs have gone which may take some pressure off Maynard and he can work with the recruitment team in assessing which players are good enough to stay next season and where do we need new faces.

We were pretty carefree in issuing contracts last summer so we may need to negotiate to get some players out.

My one concern is that Maynard is just the unluckiest manager. Disallowed 'goals' at Mansfield and Wrexham, Macca missing chances he'd normally convert, etc.

The issuing of those contracts apart from, for example, Jodi Jones & Macari, has proved a costly mistake. Langstaff missed two guilt head chances against Crawley too

Robbie 

Yes they are just rumours but as the saying goes there's No Smoke without Fire. Luke Williams departure started as a rumour and there have been rumours over the  years that have turned out to be true, so we'll have to wait and see what happens.  Having attacking players such as Jodi and Macca  defending is wrong they shouldn't have to defend that's what the defence is for and hand on heart, there are players at Notts who are Not League 2 standard. Yes getting rid of Stuart Maynard will cost the club, but only in the short term, because if  Fans start deserting in their thousands then that could cost the Club in the long term and we certainly don't want a repeat of the Hardy  era. Like it or not there are a lot of fair weather fans that have jumped on the Notts success band wagon and now the Magpies are not winning matches they will start to trickle away and unless things are sorted and quickly that trickle could turn into a flood. I don't like sounding all Doom and Gloom but this is how I see things at the Lane at the moment.

@Wheelbarrow repair man I agree with you that there are players who are not good enough for this league, I would estimate half the squad isn't good enough which is a large amount.

It was a big mistake by Luke to retain players last summer who were not good enough. That has proved to come back to bite Notts big time.

I believe Stuart should be retained until he has been allowed to rebuild the squad in the summer and only dismissed if results are poor at the beginning of next season.

As far as the fans are concerned, the club welcomes everyone, however the true fan who sticks with Notts thru thick and thin will always be the core of it's support & Notts will want to build on that core support which will always remain stable.

I’m only acquainted with one person here, so I feel a bit on the outskirts, but numerous members have given me a warm welcome. This welcoming attitude is clearly ingrained in the existing community, but it can still be intimidating for newcomers. You need to keep an open mind, as there’s a learning curve when using any website, and I believe it’s worth persevering here.

The team members I’ve interacted with have all been fantastic. I aspire to become fully integrated within the community and will do my part to make that happen.

I've been part of forums before, and they often make you feel invisible, with just one or two friendly folks. Even on small sites, like a niche one for long-distance drivers with around 50 active members, it was unexpectedly hostile and unfriendly to beginners. I eventually gave up on it. Community matters, as does a positive online environment (PON), and I miss posting when I can't be online. While I may not know many well, those I feel acquainted with are the ones who contribute to making this site a welcoming place.

I find it refreshing that even if a member on the PON site disagrees with your opinion they don't jump down your throat, you can have a sensible conversation a back and forward chat . As being fairly new to the site it's been nice that I have been afforded a warm welcome by everyone and the comments regarding my article Loan Players Good or Bad ? was most pleasing. Thankyou One and All.

I didn't realise until the news app of my preference sent me a push notification saying Facebook was down, as if it were major news or something. A reminder for us all to get away from social media!

It’s significant news mainly because so many people have Facebook accounts and it’s one of the biggest websites online. Aside from that, the overreaction and the teasing on Twitter just show how much some people are fixated on social media.

Meta and Facebook, although still popular, aren't very trusted, and Elon Musk is making x.com feel similarly. In the part of Texas where I reside, we have our own community site, a blend of PON and Facebook. I wouldn't mind if the mainstream platforms faded away; I never got into MySpace, so having a local alternative is quite ideal.

note to self, watch youtube!

i am so pleased for the womens team, points can change a season and lift everyones confidence. i want to see our teams playing at the highest levels possible, so i am delighted to see this. well done pies!

Fantastic outcome for the women’s team and a clean sheet as well, a positive sign for them. I sincerely hope they carry on their journey and make their mark in the league.

Congratulations, ladies! A proud victory, and hopefully the first of many in your upcoming games. ????????????????

great goal, i have seen it a few times before when pon has done the otd. great piece of history.

Enjoy your fancy Sunday dinner!

I bought a bicycle yesterday and took it on a maiden voyage home, then I had go go out and buy a suit (my other suit is six years old and has been worn precisely once, and appears to have shrunk in the wardrobe...).

i enjoyed the weekend even despite the notts result, i enjoyed the game but left frustrated because of wimbledon. notts players did mostly well but did not quite manage the ending all the well. far more positive than negative tho.

sunday i did the usual and fetched my mums shopping, she prefers it hand picked and fresh. some might wonder why she does not get home delivery but shes very old school and would do this herself without transport if it was not for me. i quite like doing it to help her and on occasions to top up what i need. after fetching the shopping i had sunday dinner with my mum and aunt.

17 minutes ago, DangerousSausage said:

In terms of points (remember what points are?),

14 hours ago, 4everapie said:

I'm doing the same as Notts dropping like a stone 

Your show of solidarity with the team is admirable! 

I value your hard work in keeping this going, even when some rounds are skipped or missed. It’s a top-notch prediction league and a standout feature for PON.

Robbie You Just Smashed It.  You are so right about Jason Turner the influence the positivity and his footballing knowledge  had an immense impact at the Lane, His Tragic Death last season hit the club staff players and fans like a bomb going off. His photo was carried by the players at Wembley and I'm sure the memories of Jason's time as C.E.O at Notts helped inspire the Lads to their victory over Chesterfield. And as you have stated Jason's death may have also been a factor in Notts misfortunes, because his personality and footballing know how, would have certainly helped Stuart Maynard's transition into the Magpies New Head Coach. You may want to put your comment on Social Media, it may give certain Notts Fans pause for thought.

It’s just like Notts to control the game, keep the pressure on, but then let in a goal. People are making too much of Stuart Maynard’s words about crosses. He might have just slipped up. Jatta might not be the best at handling crosses unless he can bring them down, as he prefers the ball at his feet. Some say he’s not good in the air, but I’d still have given him a chance. I won’t use a stressed head coach’s words to prove a point; it’s not that important. Some of our supporters on social media wouldn’t cope with being in management for even a day.

At the 90-minute point, I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be our day. Regrettably, we lost our focus and fell to a rather weak Wimbledon team. I didn’t hear any jeering directed at the players, only at the officials. Those around me were vocal in their criticism and made their feelings clear. On a different day, we might have scored two or three goals. A goal for Notts could have completely changed the game. I don’t believe it would have ended in a draw if we had taken the lead. However, we need to improve our defence at the moment. This situation is leaving Stuart Maynard with very little support, but it’s crucial that the club remains united.

The club should be careful not to overwhelm people like Les Bradd. He’s done a great job with the stadium tours, and while it’s good to involve legends, we sometimes need to wait for the right time to make the most impact.

It’s a good move by the club. It would be great if Notts’ staff could be more creative and try new things, not just copy other clubs. But it’s good they’re open to trying proven ideas. I’m confident it’ll work well, especially if Les is in charge.

It’s an interesting idea, and it’s good to see Notts trying new things. It’s a bit of a distraction from the team’s current form, but it could be positive in the long run. Maybe Les could start a dating event at the club too? ????

What’s coming up next, a Notts County singles club? The Lonely Magpies Heart Club? ????

pon is my main go to, its the only site i have a quick access link to.

i do watch youtube but the double ads and constant things they have done in order to block ads, despite me not having anything on my browser that does that has made me consume much less videos. besides all the good creators seem to be leaving, there is a mass exit of them doing so or employing people to run their channels and its not the same.

facebook i used quite a bit, messenger more so at least to keep tabs on people and i have made it a goal of mine to message mr ram above me. bbc sport, sky sports, some of the papers like the mirror who from time to time do good football articles.

twitter seldomly, but i only do it mostly to engage with pon and members outside. i thought it gave me a good way to get to know some of them that i really enjoy better.

The best website on the internet (apart from PON of course) is https://engrish.com/ - which focuses on bad English translations, mainly from the Far East

Another good one is the English Companions' website, a treasure trove of information for anyone interested in Anglo-Saxon history.

Apart from that, I usually read the Guardian online and always read Martina Hyde's column and I sometimes lurk on an SV Waldhof forum.

Oh I've read this wrong with the title being A Discussion on Favourite Websites, I thought you meant Websites produced by Fans (might be an idea for another article) Allardyce's Tash?  Notts official Website,  Notts You tube BBC and of course Pride Of Nottingham.

Best wishes to the women’s team. They need victories just as much as the men’s team, but they likely have more support behind them.

not to be negative but is 26 seconds all they can come up with? why not use their socials to get fans to submit questions and therefore they could make them more meaningful to watch. i felt disappointed to get such a short clip.

it does not tell me much either.  

i just realised the youtube video is the full one, still quite short but much better.

A great save from David Seaman from the 2003 FA Cup Semi Final against Sheffield United.

Gordon Banks, Peter Shilton, and David Seaman were all top goalkeepers. It’s been some time since we’ve had a keeper of their calibre who’s also outstanding for their club. Jordan Pickford is decent, but he hasn’t lived up to expectations at Everton. Joining them might not have been the best move.

That’s my favourite save too @Robbie, I’ve never seen one to better it and even Pele could not believe he got to it.

We used to have some of the best keepers in the world back then, now you’re struggling to name more than half a dozen as the “sweeper” keeper appears to be more fashionable.

we have a good history playing villa, we might not always win but they seem to be great games between two good teams despite any difference in the playing levels.

It’s important to preserve and share our history, especially with new supporters. We should take pride in our past, and Notts fans ought to unite in celebrating it.

A wonderful piece of history indeed. Perhaps one day we’ll go even further and have more to celebrate! ????

Jake Reeves... Before @Robbie gets it. ????????

You beat me to it @Chris but I have Steve Finnan who played for the Wimbledon youth team and later for Notts and later played for Fulham and Liverpool.

oh this is hard but i managed to come up with a player i remember @Piethagoram mentioning. he was a very good player i felt, someone i wished we had seen more of during his loan and after he was released from his club, i wished he had signed for us.

lloyd sam

The big takeaways from this press conference is that the team has been training hard for Saturday's match with Wimbledon & they know that it is going to be a tough match.

They are treating these last 12 games as a mini league and they will do their up most to try to get as many points as possible.

The team believes that they still have an excellent chance of making the playoffs, and they want to do their best for the Notts supporters.

And I still believe too.

regarding sam austin i think he has done well when given a chance recently, i do like seeing him come on from off the bench in the second half as teams are tiring and expecting us to be more focused down the sides. he finds the pockets of space in the middle and although he works well going wide, he has the ability to bring it back in and then give it to someone like dan crowley.

It’s written very well and the words capture my feelings perfectly, I couldn’t have expressed it better. We earned our promotion based on the points we accumulated in the league, but we were lucky or fortunate to beat a strong Chesterfield team on penalties. I think we should be grateful that we had two superior goalkeepers with different strengths. We’ve made significant progress, but some problems from the National League still persist. It might take a while, but Notts will be stronger next season.

Every single Notts fan need to show their loyalty and get behind Stuart and the team on Saturday.

We are the joint top scorers in the league.

We are just 7 points off a playoff spot with a game in hand.

We have everything to play for.

I say crisis, what crisis?

Are we in danger of relegation? No.

Do we still have a chance of promotion? Yes.

Have we made progress from last year?

Yes.

Sam left us 18 months later @liampie, so he had another full season after that one. We struggled after we went up. We suffered an injury to a key player (Sean Farrell) and couldn't score. But in the end we stayed up comfortably after bringing in a series of strikers (including Stallard) and did well the following season. 

To put it in the right context, we hadn't played in the fourth division for 30 years until that promotion season. Dropping that far seemed almost as unimaginable as falling into the National League a few years back, and it was really important to the club to bounce back quickly. So it was all the more depressing when things went downhill again after Sam left. 

It would have been an amazing season to watch unfold, before my time though, but I appreciate reading what fans have to say. @DangerousSausage has some very interesting comments which help to learn more about the season.

The thing I remember most about that season was Big Sam singing “We are the Champions” whilst holding the trophy aloft.

John Chiedozie was a special talent, from all the videos I have seen of him playing. The more I wished I had been lucky to have seen it live, instead of just footage.

week days its all work, non stop and i am reaching the point where i feel overtime needs to be reduced.

saturday i was looking forward to going to bradford even though i did not have any company, i felt disappointed when the match was called off because of the wasted fuel and time but thats football. i decided to drive to manchester to meet up with @TheSkipper, which was good. sunday is always usually the same for me, shopping and visit my mum.

On 03/03/2024 at 15:46, Chris said:

I won't say what @super_pie decided to buy him, but it made us laugh.

I’m guessing it was a bag of marbles, am I right @super_ram?. 

@Fan of Big Tone ????????

I think not adding to our defence over the summer was a mistake, it's easy to say in hindsight now but at the same time I totally understand why you'd give the players who got you promoted the chance to prove themselves. The recruitment team (overall) have done a pretty good job. The January window is far from ideal to be doing a lot of business. The simplest reason we didn’t sign any defenders in their peak could just be because we didn’t have/find any good available options. (Insert joke about a statue being better than our defenders here) But imagine we signed two CB’s permanently because “we thought we had too” but there were doubts about if they were good enough and that turned out to be true, that’s another 2 players on the books for x years. I’m sure it’ll be addressed in the summer when we can get the right players in.

I don’t think we need to deviate too far from what’s made us successful since the Reedtz brothers came in and I don’t think we will. It’s just cutting out stupid mistakes and playing safer at times, just knocking it out for a throw or clearing a ball into the stands every now and again won’t change our style.

In terms of defending, yes, we need induvial quality but I also think we need proper wing-backs if we’re going to stick with the 3-4-2-1. (Basically we need to play some more defenders and not just 3!) We were able to play JJ and Nemane in the league below because our quality was a level above and the oppositions quality was not great. Neither really play like wingbacks let’s be honest they are wingers who just drop back occasionally to make up the numbers when we aren’t on the ball. When was the last time an actual wing-back had 20 assists? It just doesn’t happen.

going into the transfer window, i did have hopes that we would sign an experienced defender but we brought in jaden warner and lewis macari permanently. both looked okay at the time, i did hope that we would still make a signing that made us feel that the defence would have someone fresh and experienced to help reduce the mistakes made in games.

i like jaden warner but i think we dont help him at times with repeatedly changing where he starts. i think we need to figure out who the best player is in the middle of the back three and when that turns to four or whatever it does not lose shape for certain players.

i love that our owners are ready to invest but my point about the jata fee, we could have spent it adding depth to cover the injuries and avoiding some of these pointless loans we have had. its been a poor season for bringing in players on loan, almost like its been an after thought or panic signing.  

The football has still been pretty good, I mean we’ve come a long way. At the start of the season, there were fans who complained that Macaulay Langstaff hadn’t scored and questioned if he could make the grade at League Two level. Then there was the worry about not being able to score, despite the form being good and us maintaining a healthy top 3 place.

I don’t remember when exactly more people started complaining about the defence, but I’ve never seen any comments blaming this on Luke Williams, even though it was a problem before Stuart Maynard took over. Our football hasn’t changed all that much, we just let in goals and need to score more than those who find our defence easy enough. It means that it’s much harder to get results, but we aren’t performing all that badly. There are games where we are quite poor, but it’s because of our attack that we aren’t struggling to score. If this was the case, I would be more worried, but I think we’ll improve soon.

We’re hopeful that Jodi Jones’ performance could kick-start the results Notts require, but we can’t rely on just one player. The defence needs to step up, but regardless, it’s been a good season for Jodi Jones in terms of attack.

its great to see his assists, i love watching jodi going forward and this season is one for him to remember for sure.

@Robbie Agreed, Luton are a club that build as a team, play as a team and win, lose or draw as a team. 

Alf Ramsay won the World Cup in 66 by selecting players because they fit in to his team not because of how good an individual was. 

Alex Ferguson also built a team. Bringing through the class of 92 and making them as one. Neville, Keane, Becks, Scholes all those guys say that they were a family and Fergie bought them together. That's why they became so good. Yes, it was a superstar team but they were also bought down to earth to be a team as opposed to an individual. 

It's a benefit having talented individuals in teams but when they don't work as a team, it doesn't quite happen for them. Take the so called "golden generation" of England for example. A star studded line up but never managed to achieve anything when perhaps they should have. Mostly due to the club cliques formed.

On 08/02/2024 at 20:42, Robbie said:

People tend to forget that Association Football is a TEAM game. Over the last 20 years or so, the norm has been to buy the best players and get them all to play together. I believe that the top managers think along those lines, but some notable managers of the past built great teams out of, what they would call today, just ordinary players.

Jimmy Sirrel built teams, so did Brian Clough and Bill Shankly was another one.

A modern example was what happened at Leicester a few years ago when they shocked everyone & won the premier league. You couldn't say that Leicester was full of superstars, but they were a great team, that could play together perfectly.

Luton are playing well because they've become a TEAM playing well with each other. I think they have a great chance of staying up.

They constructed teams starting from the back, with a solid keeper, defense, hardworking midfielder, and clinical forwards. They identified what was lacking, regardless of age, and integrated their style into their envisioned way of playing. Brian Clough had Pete Taylor, a great player spotter. Jimmy Sirrel focused on homegrown players and coaching to fulfill potential. Nowadays, clubs emphasise ability and, more recently, statistics.

i think all of the english leagues are difficult, the national leagues a joke with only two promotions and one of those being via the playoffs. harrogate and sutton dont realise how special their achievements are. league two this season has shown its difficult but hopefully we can start to steady and go on to improve next season. with four teams going up its not as hard as it could be.

league one is quite a stretch if you dont have the money to invest in the players. i think once we do get back there we will need a few seasons just to establish ourselves so that we dont come back straight down to league two.

the championship has to be our dream for any team but you need to have the right balance of finances and good enough players. i think its likely teams will do a us or yeovil.  

There are still many points up for grabs, and despite our poor form, we haven’t slipped too far. Not as far as the club could have, which is a silver lining. Being just 4 points away from a turnaround and considering how tight the League Two table is, there’s a chance for things to improve under Stuart Maynard. Sadly, a lot of this hinges on whether Notts can keep most fans on board and steer clear of the looming cloud of doom. I believe the team still has the potential to secure victories, but the recurring issue of conceding goals is a concern. There seem to be more factors working against the club’s chances of reaching the playoffs than in favour. Regardless, we should be grateful to be back and feel more content than most teams that have just returned to the English Football League.

56 minutes ago, upthepies said:

There are still many points up for grabs, and despite our poor form, we haven’t slipped too far. Not as far as the club could have, which is a silver lining. Being just 4 points away from a turnaround and considering how tight the League Two table is, there’s a chance for things to improve under Stuart Maynard. Sadly, a lot of this hinges on whether Notts can keep most fans on board and steer clear of the looming cloud of doom. I believe the team still has the potential to secure victories, but the recurring issue of conceding goals is a concern. There seem to be more factors working against the club’s chances of reaching the playoffs than in favour. Regardless, we should be grateful to be back and feel more content than most teams that have just returned to the English Football League.

I couldn't have said it better myself.????

I don’t believe we’re in the running for the playoffs, I could be wrong but at this point, I just want to see improvements in our defence and results. I don’t want the club to chase the playoffs in theory, but continue to struggle with results and consequently slide further down the table due to nerves and a combination of what’s actually happening. We need to ease the pressure on Stuart Maynard and hopefully, the board will heed his suggestions on how to enhance the playing squad because I doubt he would have wanted to sign Jatta himself.