Great to hear @Fan of Big Tone that you saw @Chris yesterday. I was beginning to think things had turned a little negative for him, as he hasn't been seen on Pon for a while. Perhaps if we let him know that we are all here for him, our thoughts, prayers and blessings, just reach out and let us help. No one ever needs to be alone in our community, just a message and help is at the forefront. On here or even face to face, never suffer in silence, there is always a way forward. 🙏

On 22/01/2026 at 19:13, Robbie said:

You Training as a facility manager, is great news as you journey through your career at work. As I found myself going from a worker to a Supervisor, then later into management, it does take up lots of time with work and study. I was fortunate that the Companies that I worked for supported me as I climbed the ladder through promotions, & I had the opportunity to gain management qualifications through work.

if you manage to stay on as a contracted employee, they give you training every year and the longer you are with them the more advanced it gets. i am quite familiar with my line managers role and his bosses duties, so i think the training is very useful because its another level but it does not mean i will be advancing any time soon. still i am grateful to be receiving it.

On 23/01/2026 at 10:19, Michael D Pie. said:

Nice one @liampie as sometimes it takes guts and determination to want to advance your career as you are doing. Training can be tedious at times especially if the content is matter of fact, laws and regulations.

thank you, michael. it is a good thing to be able to have the training to move forward if that opportunity presents itself.

On 23/01/2026 at 10:19, Michael D Pie. said:

We are all here for you @liampie and please don’t forget that.

again, thank you.

8 hours ago, Fan of Big Tone said:

For those who like me have been a bit concerned about @Chris and his absence from PoN I can report that I saw him yesterday at the match, he was in the kop and I could see him from my seat in the Pavis stand although I didn’t get to talk to him he looked well, I’m glad to say.

i noticed chris walking to his seat from the steps near the chip van but i did not get to speak to him either. i dont think he would want anyone to be concerned but it is understandable.

5 hours ago, Michael D Pie. said:

Great to hear @Fan of Big Tone that you saw @Chris yesterday. I was beginning to think things had turned a little negative for him, as he hasn't been seen on Pon for a while. Perhaps if we let him know that we are all here for him, our thoughts, prayers and blessings, just reach out and let us help. No one ever needs to be alone in our community, just a message and help is at the forefront. On here or even face to face, never suffer in silence, there is always a way forward. 🙏

i think chris will know that a lot of the community cares, but i am sure if he noticed messages like this and from tony that it would make him feel well supported. negativity can be difficult, but i dont think this season has been any more or less than previous years. i just hope that he manages to start to find a way to cope with his pain because it sounds like it makes everything else a lot worse.

I tried to explain the situation I find myself in, which I have hidden behind the spoiler below. I will try to get on a bit more even if it's hardly noticable but I can't make promises. I have spent the majority of today fast asleep, again explained below. It's good to see the community holding the torch, I know it's gone quiet but there is a lot of quality from what I have seen in my fleeting visit.

I noticed at times during the match Tsaroulla was having his hands up to receive the ball and Macari didnt look to the right, and chose an inside ball.

I get where you are coming from @liampie regarding Nick Tsaroulla, he put n a great cross for the goal and I like the partnership with Lewis Macari. For me it's just there isn't enough of what he is good at. Taking players on quality crosses and for a wing back he gets in some great positions to shoot from, but always seems to sky his shots over the bar. There is a really good player in there if he can increase the end product.

The Poll has now closed. Thanks to all who voted. I'm pleased to announce that Tom Iorpenda has been voted the Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match against Crewe. Well done Tom.

I mean he loved his time here, I think if we were in League One, it'd be nailed on, but alas.

I think he'll get the offers from all over, Peterborough, Eredivisie, MLS, Liga Nos midtablers. (and just to add, his agents/management company is based in Netherlands).

However, if he's still out of contract say by Feb, a cheeky 18 month contract surely could be an option.

Unfortunately Notts were never going to compete wage wise. My money is on him going to Peterborough because he would join up with Luke Williams again.

I hope now that we are getting to the last week of the window Notts will refuse any bids for Jatta or anyone else of value to Notts.

New signing from Norway.....

I expect it helps that the pitch is artificial, although I’m no expert.

Sounds like a good game for the neutral.

A welcome away win for Notts Country Women against Sutton Coldfield Town on Sunday.

Update to date League Table.

Very very impressed by the Crewe no.26....hope Richard Montague put him in his little black book for next season.....

4 hours ago, gtownjohnno said:

Very very impressed by the Crewe no.26....hope Richard Montague put him in his little black book for next season.....

O'Reilly. Yes, I was thinking the same. Villa player. Maybe we can remind them of what we did for Grealish!

We need to win our home games. We won this one. Box ticked.

Birmingham City 1-1 Stoke City

Queens Park Rangers 1-2 Wrexham

Doncaster Rovers 1-0 Wigan Athletic

Stevenage 0-2 Mansfield Town (Joker)

Barrow 2-0 Crawley Town

Bromley 2-0 Swindon Town

Eastleigh 0-2 Halifax Town

Woking P-P Yeovil Town

Birmingham City 2-1 Stoke City

QPR 1-1 Wrexham

Doncaster Rovers 0-1 Wigan Athletic

Stevenage 0-2 Mansfield Town

Barrow 2-1 Crawley Town

Bromley 2-0 Swindon Town

Eastleigh 1-1 Halifax Town

Woking 2-0 Yeovil Town (joker)

The results:

Birmingham City 1-1 Stoke City
QPR 2-3 Wrexham
Doncaster Rovers 3-3 Wigan Athletic
Stevenage 1-1 Mansfield Town
Barrow 0-1 Crawley Town
Bromley 2-1 Swindon Town
Eastleigh 2-3 Halifax Town
Woking P-P Yeovil Town

@ARLukomski and @Megan_Elizax win this round, congrats to you both!

At the end of round 28, @Dan has overtaken @magpiejue to take the lead for the first time. It's looking like a close title race!

And that's us for another round. But don't put your crystal balls (or ferrets) away yet - we have another round coming up on Tuesday, so the fixtures are going online now! Thanks for playing and see you on the next thread!

Still here @liampie ,just trying to keep warm.Will be happier when temps rise.

3 minutes ago, super_ram said:

Still here @liampie ,just trying to keep warm.Will be happier when temps rise.

you make sure that you do keep warm and feeling well, i am sure granny pie would be waiting to hit you with her walking sticks if you did not listen. i am glad you are keeping warm.

Hi @liampie Hope you are well, we've all missed you these last weeks.

Brilliant, thanks for sharing @Mapperley Pie! It's always fascinating to see what the outside world makes of us. And he was pretty thrilled with the setup and atmosphere. Not sure that a Turkish meal and a Budweiser are typical English though ;)

I just hit play to watch it, he's talking fast German except for the couple of interviews but the subtitles are OK if you can handle written German. But if you hit the YouTube button in the bottom right it'll take you to the YouTube site with an English AI voiceover.

It just popped up as these things do. Great isn't it? Not sure what Donald Trump would make of it 🤔.

When we were last in the nest we had a very good Bratwurst from the pop up stand. Shame he missed it and had to settle for 🍕.

Charlton Athletic 2-0 Sheffield United

Stoke City 2-0 QPR

Northampton Town 0-1 Wycombe Wanderers

Peterborough United 3-1 Plymouth Argyle

Oldham Athletic 2-0 Cheltenham Town (joker)

Shrewsbury Town 0-0 Harrogate Town

Brackley Town 1-0 Yeovil Town

Wealdstone 0-2 Woking

Charlton Athletic -2 v 2 Sheffield United

Stoke City -1 v 4 QPR

Northampton Town 458 v 460 Wycombe Wanderers

Peterborough United 124 v 244 Plymouth Argyle

Oldham Athletic 55 v -78 Cheltenham Town

Shrewsbury Town 0 v 0 Harrogate Town (Joker)

Brackley Town 2 v 4 Yeovil Town

Wealdstone 0 v -144 Woking

The results:

Charlton Athletic 1-0 Sheffield United
Stoke City 0-0 QPR
Northampton Town 1-2 Wycombe Wanderers
Peterborough United 0-1 Plymouth Argyle
Oldham Athletic 2-1 Cheltenham Town
Shrewsbury Town 1-0 Harrogate Town
Brackley Town 2-1 Yeovil Town
Wealdstone 1-0 Woking

@Garry Lee and @super_ram are top of the pops this round!

Overall, @magpiejue still leads the way with @4everapie hot on her trail.

This Saturday's fixtures will be posted in the next few minutes. Thanks for playing, see you all over there!

This is really tricky because before McDonald, Palmer and Robertson got injured they’d have easily made my top 5… I do think number of matches played has be taken into account because those who have played more minutes really have helped get us to where we are in the table.

5) Jatta, we know what we get from him in terms of goals but his defensive work and pressing is so valuable too.

4) Iorpenda, been ever present in the team, versatile having played in both deep and attacking midfield roles. Never stops running and I love how he can just pick the ball up in midfield and breeze past players.

3) Palmer, even with his recent injury he’s played the 5^th most minutes in League 2 for us so far. You realise how much we miss him when he's not there.

2) Bedeau, think he’s played every minute so far and has been very steady and reliable as our left sided centre-back.

1) Dennis, signing of the season so far for me, he’s really surprised me because I wasn’t expecting him to be as good as he has been.

Honourable mentions for Tsaroulla, Hall and Macari who have all been impressive in this first half of the season too.

I thought I'd quickly revisit this topic the other side of our accidental winter break and now that a couple of players have dipped under my arbitrary 50% of games mark.

After responses from @Robbie @menzinho @Michael D Pie. saying Matty Dennis has to be in the top 5, I thought I'd defer to their better judgment and put him in. But faced with the choices I just couldn't do it!

5) Tom Iorpenda Being an ever-present maintaining such a high standard is remarkable for a young, inexperienced player. Credit to him

4) Allesana Jatta If only he could hit this form every week. At his best, he makes a big contribution all over the pitch

3) Lewis Macari so consistent, rarely less than a solid 6 out of ten, more often a good 7 out of ten

2) Jacob Bedeau played virtually every minute. sews up our left-hand side single-handed

1) Matty Palmer great to get him back, looks like he'll soon find the superb form he was in before his injury

On 30/12/2025 at 15:07, Robbie said:

For me it has primarily been a team effort that has Notts currently in sixth place just four points behind a promotion place after 23 games.

My top five, not any particular order, who have stood above the rest are.

Matt Dennis, 22 appearances, 10 goals & 1 assist.

Conor Grant, 22 appearances, 2 goals & 1 assist.

Tom Iorpenda, 23 appearances, 2 goals & 4 assists.

Jacob Bedeau, 23 appearances & 1 assist. Captaining the side in Palmer's absence.

Nick Tsaroulla, 21 appearances, 2 goals & 3 assists.

I think all of these players have performed at a consistent level over a large number of games.

There are also players who have played less games & played at a high level too, but I am looking for consistency over the largest number of games, so that is how I made my choice.

I’d agree with this list. McDonald is a very close 6th tbh.

A number of different candidates have been put forward so far seems to indicate that in what was a fairly scrappy game there was no real standout performer. A touch of quality from Jodi for the his goal was about it, but not enough for MOM. I'll add another to the mix and nominate Tom Iorpenda.

I'm pleased that Jodi scored with a screamer & Alassana had a good game. Platt was his usual self in defence & the team was solid defensively & unfortunate not to get a clean sheet.

I think I'm going to go for James Belshaw as my Man of the Match for Notts, because he made some vital saves on his debut, & it was an encouraging first game for him.

The Poll has closed. Thanks to all who voted. I am very pleased to announce that on his debut for Notts, James Belshaw has been voted the Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match v Crawley. Great to see you make your mark for Notts straight away James.

Sounds awful @Michael D Pie. thats one diet I don’t fancy trying.

No i totally agree @Fan of Big Tone there were not any takers once advertised. Cannot imagine why? ☹️☠️

Spent Sunday morning looking at the Sunday talk shows

6 minutes ago, Piethagoram said:

I have seen lots of comments on Norburn yesterday, he is marmite, you either love him or hate him.

He has that midfield nous to wind people up but I find him frustrating is that he is always looking backwards rather than forwards most of the time

Some comments blow my mind, are we talking about park football or something? If 'winding people up' can get a starting shirt then we're going nowhere.

You're right, Norburn made very little positive contribution to our play yesterday. I think he was there for extra insurance as it was Palmer's first game back. Otherwise, there's duplication between the two and we need either Robbo or Iorpenda there to add athleticism and cover more ground

@theAnticlough I've seen some social media speculation that Shrewsbury are interested in Norburn.

It wouldn't be a big surprise if he was in the same category as Gordon - we have to streamline our wage bill i guess to bring in new blood.

Look at the first game of the season.....Gagliardi's work is being cancelled out

In that first game we had Roos, Aljofree, Gordon, Cotter all getting starts, Norburn came off the bench. So did Bennetts, who wasn't in the 18 man squad yesterday and got no mention in interviews.

Norburn though is decent back-up for Palmer at this level. And consideing MP and Robbo are injury-proned we need that back-up. As a regular starter though? I wouldn't say so.

Considering that even once Gordon was fit Tsaroulla was still in favour down the right-hand side is quite telling for me.

We’ve somehow got ourselves into a scenario where all our best wing-backs are left-footed, which isn't ideal. Tsaroulla, to use the classic football cliché, has done a job playing on the right hand side but he’s much better on the left because he’s not constantly put in positions where he has to use his weaker foot. He hasn’t put a cross in with his right foot that has created a goal.

Given that Cotter is not going to be involved and with Gordon moving on we are now short of a proper right-footed wingback.

Sadly, Kell never really nailed down a place in the team - he seemed a “nearly” player to me. I expected pace, dynamism & sharpness - which he provided but only in short bursts. His crosses were inconsistent too.

I think overall, he was a slight disappointment tbh but I wish him well. Always tried and came across as a good bloke in interviews etc.

We still don't know how the new players are going to perform. They may be a success, but they may not. The club has released players that were used to the system & were up to speed with knowledge of their colleagues and how they play,

It's going to take a little time for the new players to become acclimatised & up to speed. I do hope that the supporters won't expect instant results from those new players. If it happens that will be great, but if it doesn't, I hope the fans don't get on to them, before they've even settled.

Replacing Bass with Roos was a major mistake of the summer so I'm glad we've taken steps to correct it. Roos showed some good reaction saves, but too often he didn't do the basics in commanding his area and catching and punching the ball. I hope we've now got a calm presence between the sticks, and of course I hope Roos does well in Scotland.

I do like to root for an under dog and think some of the stuff said about Roos elsewhere on the internet has been a bit unfair.

He did OK but never great with crosses and left most feeling a little uneasy, so it is for the best that he has now been replaced but I wish him the best of luck in Scotland

Going from playing Newport and Harrogate to playing against Celtic and Rangers softens the blow a bit I guess. Kilmarnock are struggling. They will probably end up in the relegation playoff spot. I don't see KR playing in the Championship in Scotland so hopefully they stay up and Roos signs permanently.

Welcome! Sounds a promising signing to me - maybe someone who can play behind the striker(s). A Hall replacement?

It also looks like a return to the policy of signing promising young players on their way up.

He's an aggressive fast in your face type of player, hope Notts don't coach this out of him, he needs the ball and just go at players.

Pleased with this, he clearly backs himself to be able to make the step up to League 2, I really hope he's great for us. He's been listed on our website as an attacker which hopefully means he's not going to play at wing-back and suffer the same fate as Jarvis.

Is he really the best we can do, a reserve old man

In January? Probably is not a bad call. Less risky than a young keeper on loan for 6 months

Belshaw is in the building- my old man has just seen him at ML

I’m sure I’d agree with every word if I could read Polish.

On 07/01/2026 at 22:49, DangerousSausage said:

Saturday is FA Cup third round day, but luckily there's also a league programme for teams that don't go in for all that cup nonsense (mentioning no names). As usual, get your predictions in by 3pm on Saturday and remember your joker!

Leyton Orient v Cardiff City..1:3

Peterborough United v Bolton Wanderers2;2

Accrington Stanley v Barnet - POSTPONED

Chesterfield v Colchester United - POSTPONED

Tranmere Rovers v Bromley1;2

Aldershot v So<lihull Moors2:0]

Sutton United v York C>ity1 :3 joker

Woking v Hartlepool United1:2

Leyton Orient 1-2 Cardiff City

Peterborough United 2-1 Bolton Wanderers

Accrington Stanley v Barnet - POSTPONED

Chesterfield v Colchester United - POSTPONED

Tranmere Rovers 1-2 Bromley (Joker)

Aldershot Town 1-2 Solihull Moors

Sutton United 2-2 York City

Woking 1-1 Hartlepool United

The results:

Leyton Orient 1-1 Cardiff City
Peterborough United 3-1 Bolton Wanderers
Accrington Stanley v Barnet - POSTPONED
Chesterfield v Colchester United - POSTPONED
Tranmere Rovers 0-2 Bromley
Aldershot 1-5 Solihull Moors
Sutton United 1-2 York City
Woking 4-0 Hartlepool United

Drum roll for this round's winner @Megan_Elizax! And also a mention to @4everapie, who got 8 points despite only predicting five games, which is frankly showboating.

No change in the top ten this week, @magpiejue still leads the way with @Dan banging on the door in second.

The next round is on Saturday, so the prediction league pixies will post the fixtures on Wednesday. Thanks for playing!

Absolutely brilliant result, all the palace players should be ashamed of themselves. But they probably won't be.

I'm so pleased that they have made their mark in history after having to start all over again as a phoenix club after Macclesfield Town were liquidated and expelled from the National League in 2020 because of huge debts.

Macclesfield have recorded three promotions in the four subsequent seasons & are now in the National League North, currently in 14th place.

I watched the game it was certainly no fluke result they thoroughly deserved their win, absolutely brilliant. I’m so pleased for the fans, who says the FA Cup has lost its magic.

I don't wish to sound harsh, but Luke Williams is still riding off the success he had with us. His stint at Swansea City isn't something that would overly appeal to clubs in my opinion, whilst he did a modest job. There were a lot of articles circulating about how he was staying away from the players and how he had caused a division among the squad.

Swansea captain Matt Grimes also left the club, stating Williams as the cause.

There are two ways of looking at this: either Williams was weeding out the bad eggs/underperformers, or he was contributing to the problem holding Swansea back.

Wales Online

BBC Sport

EFL Analysis

Since he arrived at the club, it's his first major appointment after having success. Alienating a struggling squad isn't exactly the way to go; I would have thought it would be best to adjust slowly and find replacements. I thought he had made a jump that was too big, but I understood the reasons, as he would be closer to his family.

Peterborough United, to me, seems like a poor move because they have spent money and massively underperformed as a result.

It's almost identical to Swansea City, who needed someone able to get the best out of the squad that was there without a massive overhaul. Posh will probably spend more money come January, but they need someone who can work with their existing players and fairly quickly improve their situation.

Holding the position at the bottom of League One comes with immense pressure, and although I genuinely wish Williams success, the challenges ahead are significant. I can see it failing; he would have done better to wait for a team that wasn't in any sort of crisis but just needed a steady leader.

Looks like we have a Luke Williams bounce today

Peterborough 5 Wimbledon 0

Even more recovery time now. Hoping the next time Notts get a run out we will be stronger to the tune of two or three players in key positions.

On 08/01/2026 at 23:41, Sheffield Pie said:

Even more recovery time now. Hoping the next time Notts get a run out we will be stronger to the tune of two or three players in key positions.

Yes, this 2nd postponement is a much needed chance to reset and address the issues which have been building up

Why is our passing out from the back so poor

Why aren't we building through midfield

Why are our only wide players, the WBs always trapped, tightly marked around the halfway line

The no.10 weakness we know about

Why are our excellent 2 top goal scorers prone to following good games with really poor ones

Sort some of these out, add some new blood and hopefully we can drive on and get back up the table again.

I think Notts are persisting with the long ball to counteract the opponents high press & our opponents just sitting back and basically challenging Notts to break them down.

Notts just don't have the playmaker(s) to open defenses, so it's the long hoof. Problem with the long hoof both Jatta & Dennis are not the type of players that can take a long ball, shield it and distribute the ball to other Notts players consistently.

When Palmer & Robertson are in the side Notts are much better at breaking defenses down. If Notts did have a good playmaker to feed off those two, I think Jatta & Dennis would be much more consistent with their performances.

Being an old codger I like to sit down so I can’t answer your question @DangerousSausage but I have wondered myself how it works, hopefully someone on here will be able to tell us.

I would always sit-down at my age , but I think safe standing is a good idea for the youngsters. I am a bit confused why it's not cheaper to stand rather than sit. . I think the Club should look at that maybe next season.

Sorry I can't answer you question though @DangerousSausage but I'm sure there are some PON members who can.