DangerousSausage

No, but this is only their third season in the Bundesliga and they're punching well above their weight. Apart from winning the East German cup in 1968 their trophy cabinet is completely empty. Now they'll be Berlin's only Bundesliga club - what an opportunity for them! Don't expect them to be competing for the title any time soon though - Bayern can sign some of the world's top talent, while Union lost their top scorer to Florist. Bayern spend more than twice as much on players than the next team, so it's hardly surprising that they're dominant. Many of the clubs that have traditionally competed with them - Bremen, Stuttgart - have gone backwards, and Schalke have just been relegated for the second time in three seasons.

I'm disappointed for Coventry as they used to be my second team, but what a fantastic story and an inspiration Luton are. That's how it's done! Getting sick of seeing the entrance to their away end on German Facebook pages though. Yes, we know, it's a row of houses.

I saw it unfold on TV (German Sky do a "conference" where they flick from one match to the other). Dear oh dear. BVB were absolutely bricking it and were deservedly two goals down before they'd even started to get into the game. A frustrating watch. Bayern at Cologne were little better, but they at least produced a moment of magic when it counted. For a while it looked like Cologne were going to hand Dortmund the title. BVB had to win at home to secure the title and they failed. They'll never have a better shot at it than this season. The only other challenger I can see next season is RB Leipzig, and I'd rather Bayern win it the next 30 years than they get anywhere near it.

Some people only post sporadically, some lurk most of the time and don't always feel the need to post. That's OK, everybody is welcome! A lot of the people mentioned above are sporadic posters and I enjoy reading their input. Others do drift away, either from PON or from Notts or football generally. I think the pandemic made a lot of people reassess how they spend their time. That's OK too. I just hope our former posters are well and enjoying whatever life brings them. @PTID1862 used to post loads, but I'm fairly sure he made a conscious decision to stop posting. I hope he's well. @Feral Fox still pops up from time to time when he's not doing politics.

Good luck Jimmy Goals. Hopefully he'll flourish with regular football.

There's been a push to overcome the stigma around mental health since the tragic death of Robert Enke, who was a national team player. Imagine if a current England player committed suicide. It would make shockwaves and really bring mental health to the forefront of people's minds. It's worth noting that the initiatives in the article are from fans' groups and not the clubs themselves (and of all fanbases, the one from St. Pauli is one of the most proactive). They really look after their own and try to give their fellow fans a lift during testing times. Fundraising campaigns for severely ill fans are commonplace here.

That's awful news, I remember them playing in what's now the National League. I hope they sort themselves out. King's Lynn also resigned from the Northern Premier League on the eve of the season a few years back (before they were Town) and they've gone from strength to strength since, so it can be done.

I don't understand what docking points is supposed to achieve in this situation. How will that help the other clubs if Wigan run out of money and can't fulfil their fixtures? I think the League wants to be seen to be doing something. In the German professional leagues there is a licensing system. Clubs have to present their financial information to the German FA - including sponsorships, projected crowds and the playing budget. If they expect to make a loss, they have to provide proof of funds, otherwise there's no license and it's off to the regional leagues they go. It's a very harsh system though and clubs often get reprieved from relegation because others have been ejected.

Off the top of my head, the club will get 590,000 pounds per season from the TV deal (the BT Sport deal is a fraction of that) and there's also EFL funding for the youth system, something like 250,000 pounds. And maybe some extra money from an actual cup run as well? The owners have already been putting a lot of money into the club to fill the gaps, so it won't necessarily go into the playing budget. But I think we're very competitive there anyway.

Clickbait-tastic. We can ignore this one.

There are some real crackers there, but Langstaff's goal against Wrexham was a superb team goal.

This is really sad news, I always assumed that he had drifted away, which sometimes happens on football forums. I remember him well, he was a very enthusiastic and passionate poster on here. RIP Pete ????

Of all the players we've offered contacts to, Rodders will probably be the hardest to hold on to. He's given us three great years and was a key part of the promotion team. Hopefully he'll decide to stick around, but if he does leave I wish him all the best (providing he doesn't do something stupid, like sign for Mansfield). The good news is that in Jones and Austin, we've already got replacements on board, if we need them.

It already is @Chris, my iFollow app (I subscribed for radio coverage) carries the tagline "the home of PiesPlayer". So all the PiesPlayer videos and highlights will be available on iFollow, and you'll be able to choose what kind of subscription you want and whether you want streaming. I've had a look at Luton's offering for this season, they charged 140 pounds for a video season pass for overseas fans and 45 pounds for the (frankly pointless) commentary and highlights package in the UK (most matches aren't streamed in the UK due to the 3pm Saturday blackout and the Sky broadcasting deal). The good news is that they stream midweek matches that are not broadcast live on Sky for 10 pounds apiece in the UK too, so you shouldn't miss out entirely.

They've missed the boat, it's all a bit pointless now. In July we'll all be thinking of next season, and some of our promotion heroes might have moved on by then. Very poor.

I subscribed to it from when they started streaming up to relegation. Two seasons I think. It wasn't that great at first, but it improved a lot. We're four years down the line now, so I'll definitely be subscribing and I expect good things. As an overseas fan, streaming services are an absolute godsend. However, when matches were picked for live Sky coverage, there was no stream even if you were abroad. I wonder if that'll be different now - National League TV showed every match regardless of whether it was on BT Sport.

Good for them. A lot of Florist fans have been very gracious towards us, and it has been noted. There are still a few who claim they single-handedly saved Notts because they threw a pound in a bucket in 2003 and we should now worship the ground they walk on, but all clubs have their idiots. All that said, I'd really like us to pose a real threat to them on the pitch before I'm old and wobbly, and that's rather more realistic if they go down a league or two!

Yes there is @Fan of Big Tone, it's called iFollow and it started the season we got relegated I think. Different clubs charge different prices, but it tends to be a touch cheaper than National League TV. I'm hoping to hear something from the club soonish! I'm not sure about domestic streaming though, it might not be available on Saturdays. We'll find out soon enough.

That's an interesting idea @liampie, I might just do that!

We were the first to reach 4,000, but Preston and a handful of other clubs have already beaten us to 5,000. Burnley, Wolves, Derby, Bolton and West Brom have also overtaken us. Blackburn have played two more than us so will hit 5,000 first, but we will overtake them again if they reach the Premier League in the near future. Likewise, we will close the gap on Burnley and Wolves the longer they stay in the PL, as they play 8 fewer fixtures. We had played the most games because we were the founder member that had spent the least time in the top flight. Which isn't that much to brag about if you think about it!

@CliftonMagpie, by my calculations, it'll take another 1,215 years before we hit 50,000 League games. I'll be around for that as I'm an immortal robot, but the rest of you won't ???? Jesting aside, I remember the 4,000th game, I think it was against Rochdale in Sam Allardyce's championship-winning season. I don't think we made a fuss of that, there was just a mention in the media. Crazy how time has flown. By the way, Salford City are the only team in the League we haven't played against in a competitive league fixture (although we have in the cup, which is best forgotten about). Since they're not going up, we'll be one of a handful of teams to complete the full set next season.

The EFL website has us on 4,986 Football League games @Chris, so that'll exclude cup games and probably the playoffs. So matchday 14 is the one to look out for. At times some of us have wondered whether we'd return to the League at all, so it would be good to see the club make a fuss of this!

To date, Notts have played 4,986 games in the Football League. So, alongside all the nice things we have to look forward to like the Checkatrade Trophy and a trip to Crawley, next season will also see our 5,000th game in the League in about October. We won't be the first club to hit this milestone, but it would be great if the club made an event of this. Hopefully we're at home! By my reckoning we've also played 13 games in the playoffs, which would put us on 4,999. But I'm not sure you can count them.

I like the sound of that @Chris, he's a great asset too. If Rodders leaves, Jones signing would cushion the blow as he could play in his position. Jones is also one of the players who has already proven himself at League level. I'm hoping to hear about the first contract extensions once players get back from Ibiza and sit down with their agents.

I'm glad that the club are trying to keep the existing squad together as much as possible so we can carry on our momentum next season. The players we've released also make sense - if you're barely featuring in the NL, it won't get any easier to get game time in L2. For me, the question marks were whether we'd keep Rawlinson, Slocombe and Jimbo. I thought we'd take an opportunity to upgrade the back line a bit, and Jimbo won't be a regular starter. That said, I think they're all good enough for League 2 and they deserve their deals. I wonder who will actually sign up. For what it's worth I think Rodders is off, but I'm quietly confident the others will stay.