StarkMallard

I've been thinking about this myself. After promotion from the NL we held on to players who, with hindsight, we should have moved on. However, the warning signs had been there. This time, some of the players out of contact have been top performers. I'd renew with McDonald for the reasons stated above. Norburn has grown into a key player and has League One experience, he's good for another year minimum. I'd also give Platt another year, although this is a risk for the club due to his injury. Tsaroulla is the one I think other clubs might be interested in and we look much better when he's in the team. Tie him down, physically if necessary. Kouhyar has done well given the step up and is clearly trusted by MP to do a job when we'reclosing a game out. However, he has never seriously looked like holding down a first team spot and has little goal threat. I think L1 is a step too far for him. Bennetts has played above League One level, but has only really looked good for us when coming off the bench. Even then, there's often been little to no end product. I doubt the club will renew and suspect he'll be heading back to Germany. Tangen is the wild card. We've had glimpses of a quality player who is comfortable on the ball and can play in both attacking midfielder and in the Palmer position. He could blossom in L1, but he would be a gamble. I'd personally pass and go all in on the AM positions over the summer, but he could be an interesting one to watch if he does join permanently.

Fair points from both of you there. I find Bradford's season encouraging - last season they were no great shakes, going up with about 78 points, and this time they made the playoffs with Aden Baldwin playing at the back for them. The other three promoted teams spent the season looking over their shoulder, with only Port Vale actually going down. I think as a promoted team your first priority has to be to gather enough points to stay up as early as possible. That might sound pessimistic, but I remember the last two times we were promoted to this level. In 2010-11 we made a huge mess of things - that team shouldn't have been anywhere near the bottom four. I'm hoping for next season to be a more relaxed experience! Regarding Luton, they're still receiving Premier League parachute payments to the tune of about 20 million a year. It gives you an idea of what we'll be up against if we do manage to do well and challenge near the top, but I'm not going to lose too much sleep about that yet! One thing is for certain though - this is a lot more fun than thinking about another season with Crawley et al...

It's wonderful to be back in League One, but the first thing we'll have to do is consolidate. I've been thinking about who can fill the bottom four spots rather than the Championship! This division has changed a lot in the last 11 years, some of the riches from higher up the leagues have filtered down and clubs like Huddersfield and Leicester have a wholly different financial foundation to build on. If we're to compete at the right end of the division, we'll have to compete with rivals that can afford to spend seven-figure transfer fees. For now I just want to be competitive and would gladly take a place in the middle third of the table. There's probably little prospect of keeping Iorpenda and Luker as they'll be playing for their parent clubs, so we'll need someone to fill their boots and the number 10 spot we never quite successfully filled this season. I suspect some of the players on the fringes of the squad may be sacrificed to make room. Then of course there are the players who are out of contact (Tsaroulla, Platt, McDonald), what happens there? I think this forum is in for a busy summer! But it's fantastic to be back. I've got every confidence in the powers that be to make the right calls this summer so we can build on this season with an added injection of quality. Who knows, we might even get a point against Mansfield!

Good morning everyone! I'm officially at work but my concentration span is 0. Still can't believe how good yesterday was. Hurt my back a bit celebrating but I feel fine this morning. Maybe it did me good? My thoughts are also turning to League One. I've always fancied watching us at Hillsborough, it's a proper club and a proper old ground and easy to get to. And @theAnticlough is bang on, the vibe around Notts is so different now it almost feels like a different club. In a good way. I see @Michael D Pie. has a wife who can see the future as well as a magic time tunnel and a ferret. There go my chances for next season's prediction league then!

Wow. I've got to calm down somehow because I've got work tomorrow, but I'm still buzzing. I was pessimistic before this match as we never look good against Salford. I was there against Bradford in 96 and I feared a similarly disappointing occasion. How wrong I was! EVERYONE rose to the challenge and delivered just when it was most important. After so many disappointments through the years, I daren't even hope it would go so well. It's the stuff dreams are made of. A word also for Martin Paterson. So many of us doubted him. At the start of the season the squad looked a bit of a mess, he had no idea what his best team was and we started badly. Back then I would never have thought we'd be celebrating promotion now, that we are is testament to his hard work, tenacity and ability. Well done to him and well done to the club for getting this appointment spot on when pretty much the whole fanbase would have chosen differently. I'm gutted I couldn't be there, but I can't wait to see Notts play in League One again! Feel free to share your photos and videos below!

They were all brilliant, but Jones was inspirational. I'll stick my neck out and say that was his best game in a Notts shirt. Ness and Robertson also stood out for me, but crikey that feels harsh on the rest. You need your players to stand up and be at their best when it really matters, and they did that.

Not to mention the short trips @Dripsey3 - Mansfield, Wednesday, Barnsley, Leicester, Doncaster, Posh... League One hasn't been this attractive in years!

Jdjl45odtkddkfcis JODI JONES FOOTBALL GOD

Get in! We're the only team to have risen to the occasion so far. Dream first half. My back is really sore now. Let's just resist the temptation to sit back now.

This is it, this is our chance. I hope everyone has a great day at Wembley. I hope the players keep a calm head and impose our game on Salford. And of course I hope we win! I'm an absolute bag of nerves here.

According to the club Facebook page, almost 15,000 had been sold this time yesterday. I doubt we'll top 2023 but I hope the final figure has a 2 in front of it.

The punishment is absolutely proportionate, Southampton were spying on their opposition in order to gain an unfair advantage. You can't ever prove that it did benefit them (especially as the three teams we know they spied on were probably the tip of the iceberg), but that's not the point here. If the punishment for espionage with the riches of the Premier League at stake were the 200k fine Leeds got, that wouldn't be a deterrent at all. In fact, it would be negligent NOT to do it. You can imagine the chaos that would cause. The Football League really didn't have a choice here. If Salford beat us on penalties on Monday and it later comes to light that one of their club employees had hidden in a bush and watched our players practicing their penalties, should the result be allowed to stand? I feel for the thousands of Southampton fans who are out of pocket because of this, but their anger should be directed at their club.

A belated happy birthday from me too, old man!

I thought this was about the Shane Meadows film for a minute! The criticism Southgate got was way over the top. In the future, people will be perplexed that the first ever coach to take England to two major finals got abuse, like when Notts fans were calling for Warnock to be sacked. He inherited a group of players that looked disjointed and frankly terrified whenever they played in a major tournament, took off the pressure and moulded them into a team. He could have handled the final better, but without him we wouldn't have been there in the first place.

It's a dilemma @theAnticlough, do you go for the control of Palmer or the physical presence of Robertson? Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me, but I thought we showed signs of getting to grips with Salford last time we played them (ignoring the two near-identical and entirely preventable goals we conceded of course). Norburn was suspended and Robertson injured for that one, so we played with Palmer and Iorpenda in the middle and both Jatta and Dennis up front. We were missing Jones then too. I think the coaching team might be rewatching that game. I don't have a great feeling about it because it's Salford, but it's a one-off and we're nothing if not determined.

The League got this one spot on, they can't just stand by and watch Southampton win promotion after being caught cheating. I hope they kiss goodbye to more points after their appeal. I can't imagine how devastated and let down their fans feel after this though. Imagine spending all season supporting your club up and down the country, only for it to throw away its chance of promotion through this kind of shenanigans. I'd be furious if Notts ever did this.

The regular league programme concluded last week. Alongside Schalke, the tiny SV Elversberg are promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time ever. I saw them play in the fourth division a few times and they certainly had good resources for that level. After reaching the Bundesliga playoff last season and subsequently losing their head coach to Werder Bremen, nobody really fancied them to do well this season, but they've actually gone one better. In Bundesliga 2 the relegation scrap went down to the final kick, with just two goals on goal difference separating the last safe spot (Eintracht Braunschweig), the relegation playoff (Fürth) and automatic relegation (Fortuna Düsseldorf). Düsseldorf, seen as a promotion contender, went into the last game at Fürth needing to avoid a three-goal defeat to stay up. They lost 3-0.

Play-off final - The Ammies (Wembley) Team - Salford City Date - 25 May 2026 15.00 Where - Wemberleyyy What would your starting line-up be? What will be the key areas for the Magpies to get a victory? What do you think the final score will be? And are we going up? Have your say below, join in with the Pride of Nottingham match discussion.

It's up to you of course, but the memories from a day at Wembley will still be there long after the tiredness has faded. I understand it's all a bit stressful though, especially the older you get.

Not a bad birthday present! Many happy returns @super_pie

I doubt we'll end up in trouble, I think it happens more often at certain clubs. It's just chavvy behaviour we can do without. I echo @theAnticlough's praise of Belshaw, he's been our key signing and without him I doubt we'd have reached the playoffs at all. He didn't have a lot to do yesterday, but like all good keepers he was there when we needed him with that low save in the second half!

McBedeauness without a doubt - the three-headed beast handled everything (the admittedly uninspired) Chesterfield threw at him all night. But it feels wrong to single anyone out, it was a committed and well organised display and they deserve their success.

A very composed performance yesterday, we looked in control for most of it but didn't quite manage to put the game to bed when we had a chance to. Apart from the one lapse (when Berry belted a free shot into orbit) it was an excellent defensive performance from the whole team. For the final we will need to hold on to the ball better and pose more of an attacking threat, although I doubt we'll be taking too many unnecessary risks. We showed signs of finally getting to grips with Salford in our last game against them so maybe it'll be time to finally beat them? I don't mind a good pitch invasion, but heading straight over to the away fans and giving it the big 'un behind a line of stewards isn't really needed in my opinion.

Same here @Dripsey3, due to Lufthansa cutting the number of flights the cost of a trip including accommodation would be close to four figures. Very jealous of everyone who can just take a coach down! My back is a little better but still isn't right, I left the house for the first time in nearly a week yesterday and it was a pretty unpleasant car journey. I'll see how it develops over the weekend as I haven't quite given up on it yet. So this weekend I'll be staying put, watching the final weekend of the Bundesliga followed by Eurovision this evening, albeit with less enthusiasm than usual to say the least.

I was there 30 years ago today, great day but it ended badly for us at Wembley. Today is also the anniversary of the battle of Chesterfield in 1266, which I wasn't there for but ended badly for Chesterfield. Regarding the team, I agree if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I've had thoughts about switching McDonald and Ness around as old Rod is better at dealing with players running at him, but MP evidently wants an experienced leader in the middle, which is legit. It's a trade-off either way. I suspect that Ndlovu has risen above Dennis in the pecking order, but ideally we'd have both on the bench - Ndlovu if we're protecting a lead, Dennis if we're chasing the game. The am dram society from Chesterfield have a tendency to lose their heads if things don't go their way, so let's keep ours, be professional and book that Wembley ticket.