Chris

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 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.

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. ????

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.

It always seemed likely to happen this season, but I'm not interested though. I think we've moved on to better things.

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.

Yeah, this is one we need to avoid defeat. Ideally, we'll control the game and get a good result, but that is wishful thinking. It's going to be a lot harder than that. Two aspects of the players I would like to see are a] them fired up and b] awareness of the opposition. If we can use the midfield well, I am confident chances will come and at this point I really would like to see Langstaff get on the scoresheet. Then again, it doesn't matter who scores for us - I just want to see Langstaff's name pop-up. If defensively a solid performance can be put in, I'll be happy even if the outcome is a draw.

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.

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. ????????‍♂️????????‍♂️

As the title says, at your discretion, feel free to share how yours went. Mine was good. I had a few days when I had caught a bug which annoys me because I don't like feeling unwell for multiple days. I spent most of the day doing stuff in the background, whilst watching TV in the living room. Some good films were on, but the strangest thing was the days you'd expect to see films shown, only to see repeats of old TV shows dominating the listings. That's fine, we just fired up our Android box and loaded Jellyfin to watch stuff. Christmas itself was pretty standard, aside from helping Jake build his first full PC build for his eldest sister Ellie. We watched a few things, then had Christmas dinner and then went to wish @GrannyPie a happy birthday. It was nice to see GP and @super_ram open up their gifts. New Year we didn't celebrate it, I spent most of the day watching The Goldbergs. ????

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.

This is how Notts should be handling contracts, we're performing well and morale is probably at the highest it has been within the squad for years. At these points, you get your best players nailed down with good contract lengths. Yes, not all players will agree to extend their stay but when you leave things off, they're bound to be tempted elsewhere. If we accept that we might only get a few years out of a player, without selling the club's ambition to players, then I just feel it shows a major lack in that department. Yes, Notts extended Cal Roberts deal when he was here, but more players haven't - with that common "I'm focusing on my game and performances right now." Personally, when I read or hear this, I assume the players have already decided to leave. Well done Notts for extending Matty Palmer's stay! He's a brilliant asset and someone we can further shape the squad around.

At the very start, Notts had a bit of a shaky start at the back. Gateshead had a perfectly good opportunity which I felt incredibly surprised that their player didn't even hit the target, instead snatching his shot wide across the goal. Seeing that, I thought to myself that we would need to be more careful and hoped that it was a sign of their finishing. I can't say they impressed me, their defence seemed woeful and clumsy. They used the pitch quite well, passing and creating space, but it always seemed like they had no clue what else to do - even when the basics was to pull a shot away. The only thing they did well with was being dirty, breaking up the play with needless tripping and putting bodies on certain players. I thought Nemane played quite well, I just wished his crosses were a little more polished, but he had a few efforts on goal. Their number 2, Tinkler punching Cameron and getting away with it royally p-d me off. Notts played quite well despite the groans and moans audible from some, they didn't let the tactics of Gateshead distract them and the patient play led to plenty of chances. I also thought Bostock looked a quality addition when he came on, although Francis did perfectly fine before. Yes, he did some rash things early on, but I think he's someone who will improve with more time - I also think he misses Doyle's mentoring. @menzinho One of the groundsman was probing areas for results throughout the build-up to kick off. It didn't look like anything worried him during any pitch inspection, but I did notice him returning to areas and breaking the ground up in some of the spots he probed. Notts has done generally well with this regard for quite a few seasons, so I never tend to worry about the pitch condition.

I think Notts are hoping to be in control of the game more by holding the ball in midfield, but it's games like this when you realise that defensively we need to be better. Great victory, vital 3 points but after going up 3-1. We need to learn to close games down and avoid needing to chase a winner. Langstaff is an incredible asset to us.

Good signing on paper. I hope we can get the best out of him, as he's the type of player some of our lot will get onto his back due to higher expectations and the unhealthy impression that a player of his quality/experience should walk rings round others in this league.

Usually, when Notts goes one down - that 'here we go' feeling starts to sink in. I don't think I have had it so far this campaign, I felt Notts would get back into the game if they created chances. It seems we certainly took them! The 4-1 result was probably flattering for us, but the goals were all very well taken. Jim O'Brien getting on the scoresheet is nice to see, hopefully, he can continue to prove the doubters wrong that he's past it. Just like the here we go feeling, I never doubted Jim.

I wasn't impressed with Wrexham. They started well and made use of our high press, with an early chance that could've easily turned the game in their favour. Despite all their money spent, they still struggle with finishing, which bemused me slightly. Mullin actually seemed quite pacey for such a lanky presence. Notts grew into the game I felt and, I actually predicted the result. I wished in hindsight I said to the lads that Langstaff would score, but I did feel it would be someone else. Mostly due to the belief that Wrexham would make our key players heavily, but again they failed to deceive. We could've easily scored more with the chances created, whilst their only real opportunity fell early in the first half. Parkinson's comments about them deserving a draw at the very least is the typical talk a losing manager with high expectations says. In truth, they deserved nothing and all the talk about understanding how we play, it only looked like they did at times and those where very few between.

I actually did find the first half difficult to watch, Notts looked like a team that was going through the motions. Rushing creativity, losing ground and pressuring ourselves. Simply put, Notts made it very easy for Chesterfield to begin with. There was little to no service up front and, I honestly don't recall testing Fitzsimons in the first 45 minutes. Did we actually have any attempts on goal? Chesterfield's gain was our own undoing, the defending leading to the goal was extremely poor and for someone who I personally feel should be played out wide. Richard Brindley deserves credit for his efforts; it's a shame his work went unnoticed by those around him. As his block/defending didn't match those who could've dealt with the building threat better. The harsh view I feel, is blaming Slocombe for it. He had no chance, his commands of 'away' was being ignored. What I don't understand is why we can't just boot the ball away when in these situations, not that I believe playing out from the back is the issue. It's more the inability to absorb pressure when it builds to easy chances. Playing out from the back is important, as it does calm things down and space does emerge, but we need to exploit this opening better. At times, I feel we just need to clear the ball as far away as possible, re-group and stay alert. If their opening goal had been a wonder strike, it wouldn't be as annoying but the fact Chesterfield kept pushing for the opener whilst we were defending like blind mice. None of our attacks in the first 45 minutes seemed likely to trouble their defence, does this mean the booing was deserved? Not at all, I find that poor support. Yet Notts was dire in the first half, with no actual solid purpose or directives. Austin and Scott coming on made a huge difference. Credit to Mitchell I thought he actually did okay, but he just doesn't seem to be a natural goal threat. I thought some key players had been quite poor, Rodrigues for one who continues to fall quite short. His engine never seems to get going, plus his greediness is quite annoying when he's simply not doing well. Great comeback and, I do feel the timing was good as Chesterfield couldn't handle us, but this needs to be more than just 30 minutes. If the pressure had been applied, a win could've been the final result. I do believe we had enough chances in the second half but when Notts defends like we did at times - we will only occur problems rather than creating headaches for the opposition.

I felt a draw was highly likely, like Liam I felt Gateshead would be very eager to prove a point. Still, it's early days but defensively I do feel we could be a whole lot better.

It's a steady start, yes Notts could've won, but a draw isn't that bad. They're more used to this level of football than us, so I think a draw shouldn't be considered the worst outcome. It's still very early and, I personally believe our home form will be the major factor in keeping this season's hopes high. Not that we don't need to be picking up wins away from home, I just feel it's a starting point against a good team in this league. Two penalties for both sides, usually I think when this happens the referee is attempting to balance out mistakes, but I must reserve judgement for the highlights. Plus, Mitchell is on the scoresheet and equalled his tally last season! Perhaps, he might hit double figures and prove himself this time round? We can only hope.

The first half wasn't really the best and, despite the score line, it wasn't remotely a good team performance. It was acceptable, but defensively we need to be better, as I think better teams would've punished our poor passing and lack of defensive mindset early on. Maidenhead, although not a great side, did give us enough concerns early on as they pressed for a quick tempo. I think their travelling fans should be happy with their side's performance. Our goals came through pressure and good play, which is a promising sign as we worked the ball quite well at times. Second half we looked very lively, I wanted to see someone like Frank Vincent sit on the ball a bit. Yet Jim O'Brien did extremely well in my eyes, both defensively and assisting going forward. At times, he tracked back, won the ball and played us forward. I don't get why some fans moan about him starting because he brings experience and fire to the side. I wasn't a big fan of Joel Taylor on the right in the first half. He did quite a bit better in the second half, yet I think it highlighted that someone else there could do the job more comfortably. I actually wished Richard Brindley was given this role, as I do think he does well at times when he plays, but he's a lot more effective for us going forward. He's willing to cut in, run into space and go wide when the times are right. Taylor looked like he had been given the role of Jayden Richardson but needed to either gain confidence or just grown in the position. Perhaps he will get better as his deliveries are good, but I would be lying if I felt he wasn't better suited on the left. Good win, fantastic start for Macaulay Langstaff. It's early days, but I do feel a lot more confident that we'll continue to have the best start to any season for years.

I'm not sure what to expect about tomorrow with it being the first game of the season, but I still believe we'll start the season off strongly. In my mind, I think I know what my line-up would be. Luke Williams himself probably will, but I do expect him to make a few decisions which will surprise us. Provided we attack the game, don't allow them to put us under silly pressure - the game should be quite free flowing. What's the odds on a 4-0 opening day victory? Having asked that, I'd take a simple one nil to build on. It'll be nice just to be back at Meadow Lane. I must note that the first thing I do, once a manager leaves, is updating various automated parts of the site. I need to do the managers page. ????

It seems that our players who are transfer linked, aren't quite in the game to turn things around - we've been more consistent with Cal Roberts on the bench. I don't think the break in games has helped, although you would've hoped for more of a fight. I think it shows that we need to freshen things up from time to time, we can't expect to score when the players show no confidence on goal. Notts needs to look into the options out there, see if we can find a pacey finisher who can play alongside Kyle Wootton. Then again, Notts never makes anything easy but just at the point you feel we'll push on - we stumble. I don't think there's any need to panic, we're good enough for the playoffs.

Wealdstone must be happy with the draw, it's s good result for them and credit is due for making the most of the game. I feel a bit disappointed, but it's nothing major. I just hoped we'd make it a lot more harder for them.

If Notts pile the pressure on Wealdstone, a good result should come, and we might enjoy a few goals. The main thing is to leave with the win. However, it would be great for confidence if Notts won 4 or 5-0 and put together a solid performance. The postponements surely make some of our players more eager to do well. The process has to be on focus though, no game is won before kick off and Wealdstone can be extremely unpredictable at times. If we can work the ball and, control the game, chances shouldn't be few or far between. 3-1 is my score prediction. Cal Roberts, Kyle Wootton and Matt Palmer to score.