Chris

Doncaster Rovers have drawn three of their last six games in League One, with two wins coming from Rochdale AFC and Bradford City. Their last defeat was to promotion chasing Sheffield United, the final score was 1-0 to the Blades as Jamie Murphy scored the decisive goal. Two days ago on the 6th of December, Doncaster beat Oldham 1-0 in the second round of the F.A Cup, Oldham Athletic's exit came as a result of an own goal. Within League One Doncaster Rovers currently sit 16th, they scored eight times in their last six games conceding only five times. Recent cup games have seen the Vikings score five from two, conceding one in the process. Run down of their last six games. Saturday 15th November – Doncaster Rovers 0 Sheffield 1 Tuesday 18th November – Weston-S-Mare 1 Doncaster Rovers 4 Saturday 22nd November – Rochdale 1 Doncaster Rovers 3 Saturday 29th November – Crewe Alexandra 1 Doncaster Rovers 1 Tuesday 2nd December – Barnsley 1 Doncaster Rovers 1 Saturday 6th December – Oldham Athletic 0 Doncaster Rovers 1 (F.A Cup) The Players – Fact Sheet Highest Goal Scorers; Nathan Tyson 6, Theo Robinson 4, James Coppinger 4 and Curtis Main 4. Persistent Foulers; Harry Forrester 2 Red Cards and 4 Yellow Cards, Paul Keegan 4 Yellow Cards, Kyle Bennett 4 Yellow Cards and Reece Wabara. The Key Players. Andy Butler, Paul Keegan, Marc De Val, Kyle Bennett, James Coppinger, Harry Forrester and Nathan Tyson. Nathan Tyson the former Notts loanee has found himself consistently starting for Doncaster Rovers, he is a tricky player who uses his pace to his advantage and score when presented a golden opportunity. Paul Keegan, Marc De Val, Kyle Bennett and James Coppinger are Doncaster Rovers creative midfield, who are all able of creating play and scoring. Spanish born Marc De Val hasn't yet scored, however he's came close to scoring some spectacular efforts. Andy Butler is a solid defender who will be Doncaster's main defensive threat to us, this was highlighted by Walsall fans who stated earlier in our home game this season that he was the missing link within the current Saddlers squad. Harry Forrester is a promising striker who Notts fans should be aware of from his time playing for Brentford, although his goal scoring record is hardly impressive – the football he shows on the field can be. Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses. Doncaster are a direct, physical side who like to use their players with pace in order to gain space for chances. Typically they're not afraid to take chances from outside of the box or from distance, yet when on the flanks they mix low balls with floating crosses which causes confusion for the opposition defences. They don't fail to create chances, with their creative players being able to mix how the Vikings attack their opponents. Their main strengths come from break down play, players cleverly move in order to create space which they use to exploit. Smaller teams are often frustrated by the height of the Doncaster players, which is another added strength. Doncaster are more offensive than defensive, their attacking players will be a threat to any side within League One and all must be marked duly. With regards to weaknesses it appears Paul Dickov side scramble defensively and are prone to error when hit directly via the centre of the park, either with pace or flowing passes which gain forward ground. Teams have to be wary when they pack players into their own penalty area, as limited space is often given to opposition teams. Notts might be presented with more chances from outside of the penalty box rather than inside, so players like Thompson, Jones and Noble will be useful. Match Thread - View New Content

Friday 28th of November, Sheffield United will be hosting Notts County at their Bramall Lane Stadium, Notts will be trying put aside the defeat to Yeovil Town by putting together a convincing performance against a side one point above us in the League One table. Sheffield United come into the game having drawn their last game at Oldham 1-1, however the Blades have won 4 of their last six games, ironically the same as Notts. The Match Officials for Fridays game against Sheffield United will be Robert Madley, with his two assistants Derek Eaton and Edward Smart. The fourth official will be Darren Drysdale. Match Officials Referee; Robert Madley From – West Yorkshire His matches involving Notts County and Sheffield in the last four season. League One – Saturday 27th August 2011 – Preston 2 Notts County 0 – No Cards League One – Saturday 21st April 2012 – Notts County 2 Bury 4 – 3 Yellow Cards and 1 Red Card League One – Saturday 24th November 2012 – Notts County 1 Swindon Town 0 – 5 Yellow Cards Run down of his last four games. Championship – Saturday 25th October 2014 – Derby 1 Wigan 2 – 6 Yellow Cards Championship – Saturday 1st November 2014 – Watford 3 Millwall 1 – 6 Yellow Cards Championship – Wednesday 5th November 2014 – Fulham 2 Blackpool 2 – 5 Yellow Cards and 1 Red Card. Premiership – Saturday 22nd November 2014 – Leicester 0 Sunderland 0 – 5 Yellow Cards In his last four games 22 yellow cards have been shown and one red card. So far this season in a total of 11 games he has shown 42 yellow cards and 4 red card. That's roughly 3.8 yellow cards per game. Assistant Referee; Derek Eaton From – Gloucestershire Last 3 League One games. Tuesday 4th November 2014 – Sheffield Wednesday 0 AFC Bournemouth 2 Saturday 8th November 2014 – West Ham 0 Aston Villa 0 Saturday 11th November 2014 – Bishop's Stortford 1 Eastborune Borough 1 Assistant Referee; Edward Smart From – West Midlands Last 3 League One games. Wednesday 29th October 2014 – Tottenham 2 Brighton 0 Saturday 1st November 2014 – Hull 0 Southampton 1 Sunday 9th November 2014 – Sunderland 1 Everton 1 Fourth Official; Darren Drysdale From – Lincolnshire Do you have an opinion on the game? - Match Thread Also, please do leave us a comment below if you have time.

Yeovil Town come into the game only having scored two goals in their last six games, a run of 4 defeats and two draws shows the lack of form by last years Championship struggler’s. However, they cannot be written off because of this as fortunes frequently change. On the 8th of November Yeovil beat Crawley Town in the F.A Cup at home by one goal to nil. The last time they won in the league was back in September against Peterborough. League wise The Glovers haven't scored since the 18th of October and the last time they scored more than just one goal was back on the 6th of September, they beat Bradford 3-1 away from home. Run down of their last six games. Saturday 11th October 2014 – Port Vale 4 Yeovil Town 1 Saturday 18th October 2014 – Yeovil Town 1 Swindon Town 1 Tuesday 21st October 2014 – Sheffield United 2 Yeovil Town 0 Saturday 25th October 2014 – Yeovil Town 0 Rochdale 3 Saturday 1st November 2014 – Chesterfield 0 Yeovil Town 0 Saturday 15th November 2014 – Yeovil Town 0 Fleetwood Town 1 The Players – Fact Sheet Highest Goal Scorers; James Hayter 2, Kieffer Moore 2, Joel Grant 1 and Simon Gillett 1. Persistent Foulers; Ben Nugent 1 Red Card and 5 Yellow Cards, Kevin Dawson 4 Yellow Cards and Ofori-Twumasi 1 Red Card. The Key Players. Brendan Moloney, Kevin Dawson, Sam Foley and Joel Grant. The former Notts loanee Brendan Moloney will be a key player for Yeovil both defending and attacking, whilst on their day Kevin Dawson, Sam Foley and Joel Grant can all cause headaches for their opposition counterparts. Joel Grant is particularly good at pulling the strings and getting involved in attacking play. Sam Foley is a player Notts will need to be aware of as he can allude attention and quickly find space to pose a threat to any defence, he also has an eye for goal. Notts will be best falling back to the typical 4-4-2 formation or 3-5-2 with at least two of the midfielders providing cover at the back. This will counter measure Yeovil and prevent them from breaking freely, Haydn Hollis and whoever partners him must be aware of the threat of pace, whilst also being sure to deal with the task from crosses. Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses. Quick, direct and rely heavily on the spaces created on the flanks. Yeovil Town like to drill or float crosses into the penalty area where they are a threat. Many of the chances that have been created in previous games have come from set pieces or crosses, whilst the direct dynamic play allows them to attack with speed. Their ability to get crosses in towards tall players is their main strength. Yet Yeovil Town can break down sides with their smooth, possession passing which when watching would leave you questioning as to why they're bottom of the League One table. They generally zonal mark teams, packing multiple players onto a single player which leaves them open and disorganized at the back. When hit with pace themselves, Yeovil drop off creating space in front which limits chances for opposition sides, yet presents chances whereby crosses or long distance efforts leave their players rooted. Their lack of clinical finishing, sees good chances often wasted. Yeovil are particularly weak themselves when dealing with set pieces and crosses, if the balls are direct enough players committed to runs will get into them. The Match Officials - Match Thread

The F.A Cup is a major opportunity lost by exiting in the first round. It's the perfect opportunity to spread a little cheer among the fan base, gather results and of course add money to the coffers. All things which Notts County could all do with in abundance. Everybody always looks forward to the trips away, whilst the possibility of gracing a top tier team at Meadow lane – but is all really lost? I don't believe it is. Notts currently sit 4th within the 2014/2015 League One campaign, it's only just past mid November and after last season exiting the F.A Cup doesn't seem all that bad at all. We've all wanted a squad that plays for the shirt, that extra pride which the players put in goes along way and it's part of the reason why we are currently doing so well within the league. Don't get me wrong, I am disappointed but in comparison we have a bigger picture to face. On Saturday Notts get back to League One football, a win at Meadow Lane would be the perfect way to respond to struggling Yeovil Town. If we won, we could perhaps move to 3rd depending on how Preston do against Bristol City. We still have a game in hand over both Preston and Swindon, it might also allow us to gain space over Sheffield United who have played exactly the same amount of games as us at 16 and we share the same amount of points, 29. Sheffield United face Oldham on the 22nd of November 2014, neither side are really scoring or winning by many goals and I see this ending as a draw but perhaps Oldham could do us a favour? Our very next game after Yeovil Town is actually Sheffield United, there's no better time to be playing them. Our current form is actually very impressive, the odd blip here and there but the squad are battling. You would certainly call this progress compared to last season right? It's for this reason why I have put aside my disappointment and decided to remain optimistic. I wrote a blog before things started to click that I felt Notts were on the verge of something special, I really feel that this could be the season whereby we make the play-offs and dare I say it gain promotion? Don't we all dream of this? Time is now to try and make that difference. We have a tough run of fixtures – Sheffield United (a), Swindon (h), Rochdale (a), MK Dons (H) and Bradford (a). It doesn't get any easier at the very start of the new year, however I feel we can get some very respectable results. In the row of five games, I would hope we could at least take 9 to 11 points. It might be more like 7, yet I believe we can win more than two of the five. No matter what you feel, let's focus on seeing where we are come the end of December. Let's get straight back behind the lads, fill the stands on Saturday with encourage and just have a crack at this the right way. The only way, the BLACK & WHITE WAY! YOU PIES!! Discuss this Feature - League One Table

Saturday 22th of November, Notts County return to Meadow Lane against Yeovil Town. Notts are currently the inform team, however the squad will have to put the F.A Cup exit by Accrington to the back of their minds and focus on progressing further in League One. Yeovil Town haven't won in their last 6 games, yet it will not be plain sailing for the mighty magpies. Fortunes frequently change, so Notts will have to be on guard. The Match Officials for Saturdays game against Yeovil Town will be Stuart Attwell, with his two assistants Akil Howson and Jason Tyas. The fourth official will be Richard Wigglesworth. Match Officials Referee; Stuart Attwell From – Warwickshire His matches involving Notts County and Yeovil Town in the last four season. League One – Tuesday 21st August 2012 – Notts County 2 Hartlepool 0 – 1 Yellow Card League One – Saturday 13th October 2012 – Carlisle 0 Notts County 4 – 2 Yellow Cards League One – Saturday 20th October 2012 – Yeovil 2 Bury 1 – 2 Yellow Cards and 1 Red League One Play Off – Friday 3rd May 2013 – Sheff Utd 1 Yeovil 0 – 4 Yellow Cards League Cup – Tuesday 27th August 2013 – Liverpool 3 Notts County 2 – 4 Yellow Cards Championship – Friday 22nd November 2013 – Doncaster 2 Yeovil 1 – 3 Yellow Cards and 1 Red Card. Championship – Monday 21st April 2014 – Yeovil 1 Huddersfield 2 – 1 Yellow Card Run down of his last four games. Premiership – Saturday 1st November 2014 – Leicester 0 West Brom 1 – 1 Yellow Card Championship – Saturday 8th November 2014 – Leeds 3 Blackpool 1 – 1 Yellow Card JP Trophy – Tuesday 11th November 2014 – Bristol City 2 AFC Wimbledon 1 – No Cards F.A Cup – Wednesday 19th November 2014 – Aldershot 1 Portsmouth 0 – 5 Yellow Cards In his last four games 7 yellow cards have been shown and no red cards. So far this season in a total of 16 games he has shown 41 yellow cards and 1 red card. That's roughly 2.5 yellow cards per game. Assistant Referee; Akil Howson From – Leicestershire Last 3 League One games. Wednesday 17th September 2014 – Forest 5 Fulham 3 Saturday 18th October 2014 – York 0 Shrewsbury 1 Friday 7th November 2014 – Bolton 3 Wigan 1 Assistant Referee; Jason Tyas From – West Yorkshire Last 3 League One games. Tuesday 21st October 2014 – Luton 3 Dagenham & Redbridge 1 Saturday 25th October 2014 – Stevenage 1 Burton 0 Saturday 1st November 2014 – Cheltenham 0 York 1 Fourth Official; Richard Wigglesworth From – South Yorkshire Do you have an opinion on the game? - Match Thread Also, please do leave us a comment below if you have time.

Pride of Nottingham returns with it's 'On The Table' feature, each fortnight we will focus on how the League One table has changed, which teams have made the most movement and their results. We have witnessed some jumps, as we ourselves move up to 4th after defeating Coventry. However, Bristol City firmly remained glued to the top of the division but other teams around have fallen and risen. Let's see how they compare to where they previously stood! As mentioned Bristol City stand tall at the very top, with 17 games played they have 36 points yet they lost 1-0 away to Swindon Town on the 15th of November. With Swindon's win to the League One leaders, Swindon have moved from 3rd to 2nd place, as Preston North End drop back inside the play-offs. Preston lost 2-1 at home to Bradford City, a Joe Garner equalizer was cancelled out a minute after Bradford's Mark Yeates scored in the 86' minute. Notts County enjoyed a narrow 1-0 win over Coventry City to move up to 4th. Sheffield United once again moved back within the play-offs, they jumped up from 8th to 5th after beating Doncaster Rovers 1-0 away from home. MK Don's drop from 4th to 6th after their game against Scunthorpe United was postponed. Peterborough United remain 7th, they haven't moved despite drawing 0-0 to Walsall at the Bescot Stadium. Rochdale also drop down by 3 places, they move from 5th to 8th after losing 1-0 away to Port Vale. Oldham remain 9th, they also haven't moved after drawing 1-1 to Crawley. Whilst Fleetwood Town have also remained at 10th despite defeating League One struggler’s Yeovil 1-0 away from home. Barnsley enjoyed a 3-2 goal rush against Colchester at home, they also remain in the same position and stand respectfully at 11th. Port Vale move up from 13th to 12th, whilst Bradford City also move up a single place from 14th to 13th. Chesterfield drop from 12th to 14th after drawing 0-0 away from home to Crewe Alexandra. Crawley remain at 15th, they drew to Oldham 0-0. Walsall remain 16th, whilst Doncaster Rovers also remain 17th and Colchester United are also unmoved, they sit at 18th. Gillingham jumped from 22nd to 19th after defeating Leyton Orient 3-2 at home. Leyton Orient scored a penalty in the 48' minute, only to see a double strike by Leon Legge first on the 55' minute and then on the 74' minute. Chris Dagnal equalized for Orient around the 90' minute mark only to see his goal cancelled by Cody McDonald. Coventry drop one place from 19th to 20th, just one place away from the relegation zone. Due to the defeat at the hands of Gillingham, Leyton Orient drop down from 20th to 21st. Scunthorpe United also move a place down from 21st to 22nd however their game against Play-Off contenders MK Dons was postponed. Crewe who was glued to the bottom of the division for considerable amount of time have seen their form turn around, some big wins have seen them move from 24th to 23rd and on the 15th of November they drew at home to Chesterfield 0-0. Yeovil who lived the dream of playing in the Championship last season, are pinned to the bottom of the League One table. Their 1-0 defeat to Fleetwood signals a change in fortune for the once former regular mid table side. League One Table - Match Thread

Yesterday Notts fans both across the world and at the Ricoh Arena where surprised to see the addition of Roy Carroll to the starting line up. He achieved the unexpected by making his way to the stadium in time to pass a fitness test and to report to the management team. He had featured in Northern Ireland's 2-0 defeat to the hands Romania on the 14th,, however not put off or wanting time to relax. Roy proceeded to make his way to Coventry in time to be selected. The 37 year old, managed to get all the way to Coventry in time to replace Fabian Spiess who was expected to start. Roy Carroll the replacement for Bartosz Bialkowski, caught a flight from Romania to London's Heathrow Airport at 7am. The veteran keeper than collected his car, drove up the motorway to the Ricoh Arena and reported to the Notts County coaches and manager Shaun Derry declaring himself fit to play. Notts chairman Ray Trew praised the dedication of Roy Carroll by saying, “Shaun Derry spoke of his desire to get the right sorts of player in this season and I think what Roy has done for this club today shows exactly what the Manager meant.” Ray told the official site “These guys have put their bodies on the line and challenged for every ball in every match this season and we have reaped the rewards, so whilst I would like to praise every player who took to the field this afternoon, I have to reserve special praise for Roy because I know what it meant to me, but more so I know what it meant to our supporters and he has my heartfelt thanks for what he has done”. At 37, it's quite the achievement to feature internationally for any nation which speaks alone. However, to play two games in two days it says a lot about the desire and dedication to feature as part of the cause to the side he's quickly emerging as the “signing of the season”. Notts secured victory over Coventry when Garry Thompson netted the winner and only goal in the 72' minute – Full Match Report Here.