219 articles in this category
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The recent League Two playoff games between Exeter City and Carlisle United, and Luton Town and Blackpool, have highlighted the narrow gap for error within this division. Exciting as they may be to watch, the playoffs aren’t easy, nor are they straightforward as people may think. Promotion at the end of the day can reap rewards for any club that is successful enough to clinch it - the evolution and step forward can ultimately turn around a club's fortunes too. League Two teams on
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What a month April has been - and May is going quite well too! On 5 April, Juventus qualified for the Coppa Italia final, despite losing 3-2 against Napoli in the second leg - a Gonzalo Higuain double on the night meant an aggregate win of 5-4. The Argentine then scored two goals in the next game, against Chievo Verona in Serie A, for a 2-0 win. And then came the best result of the month - a brace from Paulo Dybala and a goal from Giorgio Chiellini gave us a 3-0 win over Barcelona
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The second and final part of Andy Black's account sees him make contact with Tom Gordon Savage's descendants, informs them of his plans to get his name changed at the Juventus Stadium museum, and culminates with a trip to Turin for a Bianconeri game and a ceremony to honour the man himself on the anniversary of his passing. That evening I found Anna's daughter, plus Alasdair and his three children. I sent a message to all of them one by one and it was one of Alasdair's daughters that replie
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Over the next few days, Pride of Nottingham will be publishing Andy Black's account of his journey to discover more about the identity of Tom Gordon Savage, the Nottingham-born man who famously requested for a number of Notts County shirts to be sent to a fledging Italian football club by the name of Juventus over a century ago. Here is part one, where Andy first notices the discrepancy between the established records identifying the man as John Savage and a handwritten note penned by one T
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And so ends another season in the Football League, and luckily for us Notts County fans, we had the luxury of being able to sit back and enjoy the last few fixtures of the campaign without crippling anxiety - some supporters even had the luxury of complaining about losing the final game, against Newport County, describing it as "finishing with a whimper". I will take a season which fizzles out on a losing note with a lower-mid-table finish any day compared to what the prognosis was just a f
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Haydn Hollis is a name that divides opinion amongst Notts fans. The centre-back is a 6ft3, athletically built product of our youth system, who oozes professionalism and is an all-round nice guy. Ever since breaking into the first team Hollis has shown signs of becoming a great strong solid lower-league centre back but the inconsistency and the bad spells he goes through have split the fan base's opinion of him. He played a great part in the great escape of 2013/14 and for the firs
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With the season heading into the business end, March had plenty of chicanes for Juventus to navigate, but I'm glad to say we have done so successfully. We are in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after beating Porto 1-0 at the Juventus Stadium, which completed a 3-0 aggregate win, and we will be hosting Barcelona tonight! In Serie A, we are still top of the table with 77 points from 31 games, with Roma six points behind. We only played three league games, claiming two wins (ag
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I must admit, it's a strange feeling to be sitting here and having virtually no issues with my beloved Notts County at present. Everything is going pretty much hunky dory and I have no complaints about how things are going at the club. It's very pleasant and refreshing to be in a state of no anxiety and worries after years of putting up with hell. From mid-2013 until early 2017, supporting Notts was difficult. In the beginning anyway. It then became little short of torture, with the occasio
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The spirit shown by the Notts County squad against Colchester United was very impressive – from the kick off our team looked interested and keen to get a result. Whilst there was still some concern with the defence for me, for the most part we looked the better outfit. I do however have one gripe with Adam Campbell, who simply allowed the game to pass him by. In recent weeks I had been calling for him to be given a chance, and prior to Saturday I felt that he may be suffering from a la
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When heading to an away game on a Saturday morning prior to an afternoon kickoff, it’s difficult to not notice the number of different social groups which are associated with Notts County. I would like everyone reading this article to imagine the ‘typical football fan’ in the following scenario: 8am: Meeting point is Lloyds, Hockley for ‘brekkie and a pint’. 9am: Next it’s a stop in the shop in the train station for numerous purchases of Beer and Cider. 9.30am: Board the train wit
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Thursday, just another day at Pride of Nottingham HQ, keeping tabs on the latest Notts County news from my super-plush office (dingy bedroom) and espresso machine (ASDA brand kettle and Nescafe), when I stumble upon this gem of an article. "Could Nottingham Forest and Notts County merge?" I spit my coffee out upon seeing these seven words. Great, that's another screen to be budgeted for. That's next week's sesh at the Beechdale out the window. Just what is this article on about? T
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After qualifying from the Champions League group stage and sitting top of Serie A after 19 matches, it was a great February for our Juve: only victories. Beginning with the crunch clash against Inter, that we won 1-0 thanks to a great goal from Juan Cuadrado, we went on to earn three points in every league match in February, following the victory over the Nerazzurri with wins against Crotone, Cagliari, Palermo and Empoli. Even the first leg of the knockout stages of the Champions Leagu
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“It’s crucial that we stay grounded, and remember that football can change ever so quickly, and live in hope, that when the road becomes bumpy, which it will, we remain strong, united and continue to pull in the same direction”, was a phrase I used in my most recent article. Saturday proved to be a stern reminder that football can indeed change ever so quickly. Following a superb performance and result at Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday evening, Notts fans (me included) could be forgiven for pre
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Is the Hardy Era the Real Deal? In the summer of 2009 I received a text message from my dad informing me that BBC Radio Nottingham had just reported that a Middle Eastern consortium were close to completing the purchase of my beloved Notts County Football Club. What followed was numerous statements of intent which included the record breaking signing of Kasper Schmeichel, the unveiling of Sven Goran Eriksson as Director of Football and promises of Premier League football within five ye
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Yesterday’s goalless draw against Yeovil Town may not have been the best performance we have seen during the ‘new era’ at Meadow Lane; however, it was a united team with all the players working as one unit. Some fans are unimpressed with the "boring" stalemate, but in a way this shows how far we've come in such a short amount of time - after all, a point and a clean sheet in the derby felt like a godsend bearing in mind what preceded it. Personally I would highlight the atmosphere. Des
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Amazing how much can change in just a number of weeks, eh? In fact, make that a number of days. The first week of 2017 saw Notts County's freefall into oblivion continue to pick up speed with eight goals conceded in their League Two fixtures at Cambridge United and Morecambe, consecutive league defeats number nine and ten, while Alan Hardy's takeover was reportedly in danger of collapsing. Then the takeover was completed as the old was out and the new was in, thank the gods and the sta
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Of all the players Notts County have within their squad, it’s often the youngsters who are referred to as being the key in order to survive the drop from League Two. In January, the club reinforced itself with the arrivals of Jorge Grant, Marc Bola, Josh Clackstone and Tahvon Campbell. However, it was the arrival of experienced veteran striker Shola Ameobi that captivated the fans' excitement the most. I value the experience that players of Ameobi’s quality bring. Mark Stallard mention
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The atmosphere at recent Notts County home games really has been impressive, especially given the situation we have found ourselves this season. The optimism around Meadow Lane has made both the 2-1 wins over Crawley Town and then Cheltenham Town all the more enjoyable. Performances may require further work, with spells in both games being quite stale at times – the important factor is the fact we are able to win games. It's especially good to see two home wins back to back, and i
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This season came off the back of a truly calamitous campaign in 1996-97 that saw Notts County embark on a record 20-match winless run and suffer relegation to the basement division for the first time since the 1960s. The manager was Sam Allardyce, who had inherited Colin Murphy's rudderless team part-way through that awful run. Allardyce made only modest changes to the previous season's squad in the summer. Dennis Pearce and Mark Robson arrived from Wolves and Charlton respectively, with th
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Michael O’Connor for me was the standout signing at the start of the season. As a player, he looked to have all the right qualities that Notts would require. However, for the most part of this 2016/17 season, he has been nothing short of average. I believe the recruitment at the club at the time had identified a player very much capable of being a fan favourite. Whilst the decision to name O’Connor as the captain did seem to be a good call, I would say that in hindsight it has lum
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I wouldn’t really say that I was surprised to learn about the departure of Stanley Aborah. That said, I did value what he offered and although some believe that he was difficult to manage, I’m not quite sure I would agree. Who knows for sure? However, from his opening debut after trialling with Notts, Aborah shown that he had some spark about him. In games where the Magpies desperately lacked that certain quality, Aborah was there to provide it and until Jamie Fullarton came aroun
