I initially thought their goal came from a Baldwin error, he misses his header and allows an easy finish to their striker.

Having seen the highlights, however, it's not his fault and he's effectively marking their only 2 men in the box when we have 4 'defending' in the immediate vicinity:

It's a counter-attack from a corner. Bad pass from Bostock, but not one we shouldn't recover from. We do a good job in getting numbers back defending, but I think it is Palmer who should be picking up his man and Ruben (?) helping him out. Midfielders and attackers though, don't always have the 'defenders brain' and see the danger incoming. 

Rawlinson certainly does see it, and is indicating as much.  Rodrigues is more concerned with returning to his normal position and Palmer is ball-watching:

By the time the cross comes in, Ruben is too late and Palmer is massively out of position, perhaps trying to close down the pass to midfield when that's easily already covered by Bostock:

The reaction by Rawlo is pure frustration at the lack of defending basics: Stick with your man and don't get attracted to the ball. Rodrigues pointlessly barely moves with his hand in the air claiming an offside where there clearly isn't one; Palmer is chasing shadows. 

.

Good post @Super_Danny_Allsopp. Completely agree that either Palmer and Ruben should have picked up Lapslie, but both move up to beyond the 18 yard line. Just before the ball is played in, Baldwin glances across but he is stuck between the two attackers as he cannot commit to either. That being said, it was a quality cross that 9 times out of 10 would not have found the intended target.

Bostock's pass was really clumsy and poor for a player of his quality.

He's quick to realise and chases after the ball, but at some point his brain tells him to drift away rather than to press more by running more into the channel. 

Cameron and Chicksen couldn't react better to their bursts to defend, although that's easy for me to say without the adrenaline pumping. Cameron seems to be torn whether to support Bostock or make a move to cover the centre. At the point he commits, he really should try to stay natural to the ball positioning.

Chicksen is just in a panic, fleeting back with quite some pace but unaware as to where others are around him.

By the time their player receives the ball to pass, you can see we are only just starting to organise ourselves.

I don't think the players prepare themselves for what looks like a floating cross into an area where we should have easily covered the ball.

To be fair, seeing the highlights, the fault lies across the majority of the team.

Starting with the weak pass by Bostock, to the unorganised defending. Slocombe is a little slow to respond to the balls bounce, but his decision to move late - only putting up his left knee sums up the lack of awareness. There's honestly not much he could've done, but a quicker response to play may have seen him cover it. Those in front really should do better, even having bodies behind the opposition player can prevent someone getting on goal.

If we didn't have the occasional relapse, I would be worried but from a discussion point it was poor.

They seemed to think long balls would be our undoing, until they realised that this wasn't just the case and resorted to being more physical. It shows the quality in our team now, as this wouldn't have been the result a few seasons ago, we'd have crumbled.

Simply brilliant !

I'm loving this new reincarnation of Rawlo! So much more assured now with the ball at his feet, whilst still being a great defender. Still not perfect but slowly getting there. Macca's finish was top quality and gave the keeper no chance.

The turn and shot, excellent awareness and placement for his goal.

That's the thing about Langstaff, he can play his back to the goal or as a traditional striker - such a clever finisher at this level.

Huddersfield Town 0-0 Queens Park Rangers 

Millwall 1-0 Sunderland

Exeter City 2-1 Charlton Athletic

Oxford United 1-2 Shrewsbury Town

Bradford City 1-1 Mansfield Town

Gillingham 1-0 Crawley Town (Joker)

Boreham Wood 1-1 Chesterfield

Southend United 1-0 York City

Huddersfield Town 1-2 QPR

Millwall 2-0 Sunderland

Exeter City 1-1 Charlton Athletic

Oxford United 2-1 Shrewsbury Town

Bradford City 3-1 Mansfield Town

Gillingham 0-1 Crawley Town

Boreham Wood 1-0 Chesterfield

Southend United 2-0 York City (joker)

The results:

Huddersfield Town 1-1 QPR
Millwall 1-1 Sunderland
Exeter City 1-2 Charlton Athletic
Oxford United 0-1 Shrewsbury Town
Bradford City 1-1 Mansfield Town
Gillingham 1-0 Crawley Town
Boreham Wood 1-0 Chesterfield
Southend United 2-0 York City

---

After getting 13 points last week, @ARLukomski is again the biggest scorer this round, with another three players making double figures!

@ARLukomski - 12
@Megan_Elizax, @jimbob - 11
@4everapie - 10
@Dripsey3, @DangerousSausage - 9
@super_ram - 8
@Dan - 7
@nottsnutter - 5
@magpiejue, @GrannyPie, @DonnyNotts - 3
@gtownjohnno - 2

---

@ARLukomski retakes the lead from @Dripsey3 in what's starting to look like a two-horse race, while the rest of the positions are as tightly contested as ever...

ARLukomski - 162
Dripsey3 - 160
barnet1uk - 139
magpiejue -138
Dan - 133
gtownjohnno - 133
super_ram - 132
DangerousSausage - 131
4everapie - 130
GrannyPie - 121
DonnyNotts - 121
Megan_Elizax - 113
nottsnutter - 104
jimbob - 102
Chris - 72
KB1862 - 21
steve61 - 7
liampie - 6

---

This weekend's fixtures will be posted in a couple of days. Until then, take care of yourselves and keep your crystal balls polished!

I'm not trying to be negative, but we're extreamly lucky that the referee gave two penalties usually they don't do it. I haven't seen the fouls, but I am thankful the referee wasn't one of those to turn a blind eye or give the home advantage.

That was a close thing. We looked shaky at the back and were exposed a number of times, luckily some of Solihull's finishing was very National League. We showed a lot of character to grab the game by the scruff of the neck after going behind and found a way to win. Ardley had a bit of a whinge about the second penalty I see - to be honest it was hard to tell on the stream, bit it did look a clumsy challenge.

Too close for comfort

Halifax barely had a kick, very one-sided stuff. It was a bit frustrating we couldn't add to our one goal (some of the decision-making in the final third was a bit off at times), but the 3 points are the most important thing!

It was one of those games that is hard to put into words. Notts dominated with Halifax not even wanting to make a game of it and it was the most comfortable 1-0 win ever. It was as though they were quite content to just not come away with a hammering. That being said, Notts could have hammered them. Offside goal (was it, wasn't it?), Ruben failing to square to Scott when he was in acres of space, great save from the keeper to deny JOB and Nemane having a blatant penalty refused when clean through! Ref was awful, along with most refs in this league, no surprise there then.

Now onto Solihull, who are starting to get a few players back, but they should try and attack us more which will hopefully open them up to out quick passing counter attacks.

Right from kick off Notts looked more up for the game, Halifax seemed happy to sit on the ball - they really didn't impress me.

Jesse Debrah looked like a weak leak from the moment I saw him.

Physical presence but not much football skill in him, we should've exploited him more, but we controlled the game well. I don't mind that the score was only 1-0, we had plenty of chances and their keeper did alright for someone who always wanted to catch the ball when going to ground. Yes, it would've been nice to test him more on target, especially from distance, but the way we moved will only build confidence with Notts.

I thought Jodi Jones did okay when he came on, Adam Chicksen got himself into some great positions and crossed the ball very well.

Macaulay Langstaff almost gave me a heart attack with his goal, as I have mentioned I thought he was going to miss or their defender make up for the terrible back pass. It wasn't the first one of those, but he made it count, even if he did take quite a lot of touches. It was a good game and result, I think some dwell on the way we won rather than how we played.

I honestly thought he was going to miss, or their defender would make up for the terrible back pass, but Langstaff placed it well. I'm not sure my heart could've taken another touch.

I remember there being talk about him taking over when Munto collapsed. I don't see how him getting involved again, maybe as a sponsor, could be a bad thing - the club is hardly sustainable right now so the more people who want to get on board the better!

Octavian security took over the stewarding at Notts, and they we're absolutely  shockingly awfully employers, we had to chase our pay for games worked they said we'd not worked games when we did refusing to pay up. Anyone connected or had anything to do with it, should be told in no uncertain words to go away, and that's the kind version

I don't know what to make of it, but to be honest when random people make connections to somewhere like in that tweet. I tend to pay no notice of it. It seems something more geared towards his agenda rather than an honest statement.

Hull City 1-1 Queens Park Rangers 

Middlesbrough 2-0 Watford (Joker)

Cheltenham Town 2-1 Port Vale

Peterborough United 1-2 Portsmouth

Barrow 0-2 Northampton Town

Hartlepool United 1-2 Colchester United

Altrincham 1-1 Boreham Wood

Dorking Wanderers 2-3 Solihull Moors

Hull 1-2 QPR 

Middlesbrough 1-2 Watford (Joker)

Cheltenham 0-2 Port Vale 

Peterborough 2-1 Portsmouth 

Barrow 2-1 Northampton 

Hartlepool 2-1 Colchester 

Altrincham 2-1 Borehamwood 

Dorking 2-1 Solihull Moors

The results:

Hull City 3-0 QPR
Middlesbrough 2-0 Watford
Cheltenham Town 0-0 Port Vale
Peterborough United 2-1 Portsmouth
Barrow 0-2 Northampton Town
Hartlepool United 1-2 Colchester United
Altrincham 0-2 Boreham Wood
Dorking Wanderers 0-3 Solihull Moors

---

@ARLukomski is this week's very clear winner with 13 points!

@ARLukomski - 13
@GrannyPie - 6
@Dripsey3, @magpiejue, @DangerousSausage, @4everapie, @jimbob - 5
@gtownjohnno, @Dan, @super_ram, @Megan_Elizax - 4
@barnet11uk - 3

---

And just like that, the gap at the top is down to one point!

Dripsey3 - 151
ARLukomski - 150
barnet1uk - 139
magpiejue -135
gtownjohnno - 131
Dan - 126
super_ram - 124
DangerousSausage - 122
4everapie - 120
GrannyPie - 118
DonnyNotts - 118
Megan_Elizax - 102
nottsnutter - 99
jimbob - 91
Chris - 72
KB1862 - 21
steve61 - 7
liampie - 6

---

The next round is on Saturday, so the fixtures will be online on Wednesdayish. See you then!

It always seemed likely to happen this season, but I'm not interested though.

I think we've moved on to better things. 

Not very surprising, he doesn't strike me as the man for a relegation battle. It'll be interesting to see where he pops up next.

People compared him rather flatteringly to Dele Alli [pundits and fans].

A good player but someone who declined after his hype, mostly due to the fact Coventry progressed quicker than he did. I watched his interview, he spoke of clichés and I do believe him when he said that he was keen to get going. However, his body language would suggest he's disappointed nonetheless to be here in the National League. It takes nothing away from what he said, it's only natural but his decision after leaving Coventry wasn't a good call.

Let's hope he can move on with his career; I think he should prove to be decent enough.

23 minutes ago, Chris said:

A good player but someone who declined after his hype, mostly due to the fact Coventry progressed quicker than he did.

Bit harsh that. He looked the real deal in the season we met Coventry in the play-offs, but he ruptured his cruciate ligament that November and didn't play again. And that was the first of three cruciate ligament injuries that have caused him to spend nearly three years out injured. He can probably count himself lucky he hasn't had to hang up his boots. Since coming back from the last one a season and a half ago he's played a grand total of 109 minutes of league football.

He badly needs to kick-start his career again and now he's got the opportunity to do it in a winning team. Our recruitment team do their homework these days, so hopefully it'll pay off!

I should've perhaps added about his injuries to blunt the harshness of what was quoted by DangerousSausage.

It's a good coup for us, even with his injury history.

On a positive note, doesn't it show how far Notts has come in regard to working with players who need extra care? We're almost what some might call a specialist at it now. Some people may say it's down to the player's desire, like Cal Roberts, but I really think the club's medical system is very good now at our level.

No longer at risk of further injury, both players and medical staff work hard to get the best possible return out of the game.

If we hung onto Regan Booty a little longer, it might be a point more would agree.

Obviously it's down to the right age too, but even our more senior players we appear to look after well.

Much better than the days of gambling on the likes of Billy Daniels [who I really wanted to see work out for us].

Something Coventry could perhaps cope better with considering the connections I've just made.

The matches at Exeter, Crawley and Wimbledon are off, while Eastleigh have taken the frankly annoying decision to put theirs back until tomorrow night. Anyhow, here are mine.

Exeter City P-P Barnsley

Wycombe Wanderers 2-1 Oxford United

AFC Wimbledon P-P Walsall

Crawley Town P-P Grimsby Town

Stockport County 2-1 Bradford City

Bromley 1-1 Dagenham & Redbridge

Eastleigh 1-2 Barnet (joker)

Oldham Athletic 1-1 York City

I'll count up the points for this tomorrow or on Friday as I worked far too long today and I've gone bozz eyed. But I'll post the next round in the meantime

The results:

Exeter City P-P Barnsley
Wycombe Wanderers 2-0 Oxford United
AFC Wimbledon P-P Walsall
Crawley Town P-P Grimsby Town
Stockport County 0-0 Bradford City
Bromley 1-1 Dagenham & Redbridge
Eastleigh P-P Barnet
Oldham Athletic 2-0 York City

---

Considering we only had four games going ahead, we had some fantastic scores, with several of you hitting the jackpot with your jokers. @magpiejue and @DonnyNotts are on the move!

@magpiejue, @DonnyNotts - 8
@Dripsey3, @super_ram - 6
@4everapie - 5
@DangerousSausage - 4
@gtownjohnno - 2
@ARLukomski, @barnet11uk, @Dan, @GrannyPie - 1
@Megan_Elizax - 0

---

@Dripsey3 seems to be building a healthy gap now!

Dripsey3 - 146
ARLukomski - 137
barnet1uk - 136
magpiejue -130
gtownjohnno - 127
Dan - 122
super_ram - 120
DonnyNotts - 118
DangerousSausage - 117
4everapie - 115
GrannyPie - 112
nottsnutter - 99
Megan_Elizax - 98
jimbob - 86
Chris - 72
KB1862 - 21
steve61 - 7
liampie - 6

---

So they were the numbers for this week. If you fancy more, the next ones are on Saturday and the fixtures are already online. Have fun and take it easy!

I'm sure he did. Was Harry Redknapp's dog the tenant?

Whilst playing in Spain he abandoned his car allegedly, although I recall seeing an interview after he retired where he quashed all these rumours. 

All I can say is that @DonnyNotts is correct.

Such a huge amount of talent and prospect poured down the drain, content with collecting whatever good salary he could obtain - instead of preserving his legacy. It shows whoever acted as his agent (I believe his dad did at one point) did a terrible job.

How he ended up at Arsenal is a story in itself... but cant say anymore for fear of legal consequences, story based on hearsay

Blackpool 0-1 Huddersfield Town

QPR 0-1 Swansea City

Bristol Rovers P-P Wycombe Wanderers

Portsmouth 0-1 Exeter City

Barrow 1-2 Salford City (Joker) 

Stevenage 1-0 Leyton Orient

Eastleigh P-P York City

Woking P-P Barnet

Oh dear, four games postponed already...

Blackpool P-P Huddersfield Town

QPR 1-1 Swansea City

Bristol Rovers P-P Wycombe Wanderers

Portsmouth 0-2 Exeter City (joker)

Barrow P-P Salford City

Stevenage 2-1 Leyton Orient

Eastleigh P-P York City

Woking P-P Barnet

The results (as you see, the real winner this week was the weather...):

Blackpool P-P Huddersfield Town
QPR 1-1 Swansea City
Bristol Rovers P-P Wycombe Wanderers
Portsmouth 2-0 Exeter City
Barrow P-P Salford City
Stevenage 3-0 Leyton Orient
Eastleigh P-P York City
Woking P-P Barnet

---

With only three of our games going ahead, there aren't a lot of points this time. But the winner is MEEEE with a HUGE score!!!!

@DangerousSausage - 4
@ARLukomski, @magpiejue, @GrannyPie, @DonnyNotts - 3
@barnet11uk, @gtownjohnno - 2
@Dripsey3, @super_ram, @Megan_Elizax - 1
@Dan, @4everapie, @nottsnutter, @jimbob - nul points

---

Despite the scarcity of points, we have some movement this week...

Dripsey3 - 140
ARLukomski - 136
barnet1uk - 135
gtownjohnno - 125
magpiejue -122
Dan - 121
super_ram - 114
DangerousSausage - 113
GrannyPie - 111
DonnyNotts - 110
4everapie - 110
nottsnutter - 99
Megan_Elizax - 98
jimbob - 86
Chris - 72
KB1862 - 21
steve61 - 7
liampie - 6

---

The next round is on Tuesday, so click here to take part!

Strongest available team, win needed

i spent christmas at my aunts and uncles for christmas dinner and most of the day, it was their turn to host it. i enjoyed joking with my uncle about how forest are doing and calling him a fair weather fan. 

I've had better ones to be honest. I came over for Christmas for the first time in a few years, so I had a bit of stress buying presents only for my suitcase to vanish. It took three weeks to get it back. I know it's only stuff, but it constantly bugs you in the back of your mind. On the plus side, it was an excuse to get my mid-90s Notts shirts out again

I know, some Notts fans don't like me speaking the truth but some of our lot are guilty of this during the Munto saga.

Whilst people were telling me we were richer than Man City or, the richest in the world. There were some that took things too far by claiming utter nonsense, and it simply comes from wanting to show off. It's not pride, it's not banter, it's disillusional.

Yet it is a part of football and, other sports sadly.

We're not special at this level; it's taken us to do things right to turn fortunes around and Wrexham are the same [nothing special].

There will be a time when they'll see the bubble burst, it happens to everyone at some point. I don't have much time for banter pages because it just brings the ars****le out of people. Or, those that suck up to the opposition by giving praise for likes.

vocal fans tend to be the most annoying, its the same with any team but with wrexhams dream takeover it will bring them out. i dont bother much with other clubs, i have no interest in them at all.

i do think with some fans their dislike for wrexham is envy.

I avoid banter pages like the plague @Chris, if it were limited to them it'd be easier to ignore. It's grating but I suppose it'll pass eventually.

Can't be too critical after the season we've had so far but I agree with comments above

every so often there will be a game like this where notts just did not click, sometimes we can be lucky enough to see the games through and take more than what we might deserve. i dont think the performance was terrible, i just feel we did not match boreham woods desire.

i will take a draw over a defeat any day.

I can't comment on the performance, but I would echo that for all the good performances Notts have, some will be poorer. Fingers crossed we can keep ahead of Wrexham who have games in hand.

We should've played him more if Notts wanted to keep him. I am surprised he didn't try a League Two team and instead ended up back in the National League.

Gateshead is somewhere he should be guaranteed more game time.

Better to be playing in the National League than warming the bench in League Two. He's more likely to get game time at League level once he's proven himself in the Bananarama League, and if he can do it by helping us out against our rivals, all the better

50/50, part of me thinks if he cant push forward and force himself into a promotion chasing side, it says a lot about him in a negative way. then i think hes young and just wants to improve, so no doubt he would want to move to a team that plays him.

personally i think we offer more benefits even if hes on the bench.

not many players his age feature in a season like ours, if he just found the form i think he would have been secured on the team sheet. if he dont want to be here, its best for us. we need fighters!