Thetownend.com

Lee Power has spoken , let's all get behind the team.

Jebus Allah Budha we can still easily get automatics.
COYR

My daughter is going....never seen us lose at home...

Lump your money on!

Back lash!!!!

Agreed - time for the fans to get back on track, too!

I rate Cooper as a Manager. Today we will see if am right.

No prediction today...

(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSvxOumlrJuHeZmJK8MQaTd-x3SwtZPn8yRi5qYiFv3WAu3BiLT2Q)

Wrong location, right attitude. Maybe the change will work.
COYR (Town that is, not my neighbours) 3-0

It's in Away Days  ::)

Sorted.

I wish I knew how to do that Fh. Do you change water into wine, or base metal into gold as well?
Can you move the few misplaced posts too? So we're all in this together?

Not an auspicious start to proceedings.

The goat entrails weren't encouraging either, and I saw a raven in the woods.

Swindon 0 - Notts County 37.

Better join in both threads.

Back at boys football today so not at Swindon. Just hope the players find some confidence.

My brother and nephew are going to their first ever town game today. They think we're playing Forest!

5-0, with the crowd roaring for the full 90 minutes. If only.

2-1 win. Hurrah.

The fightback starts here - 2-0

Oops, wrong thread.

2-1 win. Hurrah!

More than happy with a top four finish,2-2 today, Smith with a brace

As long as automatic promotion is still within the realms of possibility, it's got to be a win at home and nothing more.

You Reds!

Need to win all our home games now if we really want top 2. Reckon we will get a result today.

 0-0

4-1 back on track - fuck yeah

Feeling a proper fightback today. 4-0 Swindon, goals from Williams (2), Swift and Obika COYMR

Sussed! The threads have not had the correct title for a while, maybe in the absence of Shaw Rosso, so STFC1975 change the title please (Swindon Town v Notts County Official Matchday Thread). Then we can get back to the good old days.

If you are reading SR hope to see you again soon. We need you back with us. 

Where has this upbeat positivity come from?  It certainly wasn't the last 90 minutes of football that's for sure. I just hope you're all right.
I can't see more than a draw today. Very pleased to be wrong

I hope we start with a better tempo than recently and really put notts under pressure from the start.

Bet fucking Leroy Lita scores for them.

Notts are away specialists, having got a point fewer than us on the road. Only Preston and Saddlers have conceded fewer goals, on that basis I'm expecting a dour game with Notts sitting back and waiting for our obligatory error.  It's a game that can be won, but it's a right good test of Cooper's management.

I can see Roy Carroll having some fun with the Town End today.

0-1

Nathan T and Wes have an on-field spat.

1-1

Last min pile-driver from sub Smith.

Im feeling very positive. I've decided not to listen today.  Every time I listen we're shit so Im giving it a miss.

The things I do for you all.

Thank me later.

he was a twat at Meadow Lane

Feeling positive which never usually goes well!

Hope we get behind the lads today and create a good atmosphere

Wasnt gonna go today as mrs been ill all week

Last minute decision so packed her off to bed
2.1 town win for me, needs to be 3 pts today and a more upbeat performance than midweek

4.1 Town.
Seem to be a fair few around to, so hopefully a good turn out.

1 up front today then.

Foderingham; Branco, N Thompson, Turnbull; Byrne, Luongo, Stephens, Gladwin, Toffolo; Swift; Williams
Town subs: Belford, Barthram, Rodgers, Kasim, Hylton, Obika, Smith

christ, they'll be slitting their wrists in the Arkells already

Not confident today, we seem to have lost our mojo, and are finding it difficult to score goals.
This combined with the fact that Notts County don't concede many away makes me think it's going to be a frustrating 0-0 draw.
So based on my record of predicting results expect an avalanche of goals :D

Even harder with only one up front.
3.5.1.1 I reckon. Swift in the hole behind Willo ?

yes, 1 up front. thanks fuck we found a way to counter the might of a rampant Notts County.

They won away at Colchester on Tuesday I will have you know ;)

Thompson sounds so nervous when talking, it's not particularly inspiring is it? Totally different on the pitch though.

Having Stephens back is a big plus. He was controlling the game at Crewe until he booted that ball halfway to Euston.

Still don't think he's a captain though. Not responsible enough on the pitch and doesn't organise or communicate enough. We really lack a natural leader on the pitch.

It's clearly 3 up front.

Is that a 'Paul Hart' 3 up front?  :hmmm:

Have to be honest, not feeling very confident at all.  One up front?!

The crowd won't be great.  Lots of season ticket holders around us not here.

Vital we score first or the confidence will go completely, seems strange when so close to second spot.

Best chance so far for us. Could have been a penalty.

Willo misses an easy chance.

Willo nearly scores

this has a familiar ring

Sounds like 3-6-1, which is as wierd as the 2-4-4 Cooper says we finished the last game with

FFS be careful Byrne

We are sounding a little better now than at the start of the game and 1000% better than on Tuesday.

much better than Tuesday, though wes has made two good saves early on.

This seems all very familiar, have we gifted them a chance yet.

(http://i.imgur.com/Okh98za.png)

Thought this was interesting, read into it what you will...

unbelievable. right in front of the lino too.

Re-sign Brad Smith ASAP!

At least the boos are directed at the ref today

Smith > Toffolo

Sheff United 2-0 down at home to Fleetwood.

fuck me ryan harley has scored!

Can we have a shot on target please

That is an away trip and a half from Etcetera to Carlisle!

We're playing much better, but again haven't had any clear cut chances. Carroll hasn't had a save to make.

So pretty pointless then. Someone fucking shoot

HT 0-0

Playing well, 0-0 at half time.  I'll take that.

Another shite ref supported by equally shite linesmen.

playing quite well. yes no shots but it was coming, we looked reasonably threatening.

the ref is shite. apart from missing the Williams fracas (lino should have seen that) he's booked Byrne for diving then not done the same for them, when if it wasn't a dive it was a foul. wonder why he's not a premier ref any more..

Would just like to add that the Ref & Lino are fucking useless.

Stats look pretty similar to every other match we ever play. Hopefully we can nick a goal and it'll give everyone a lift

First game of the season for me. We're not very threatening are we?

Does the midget at right back (Byrne?) suffer from vertigo? He seems to have a preference for being on the ground?

Let's keep the defensive fuck ups away and take a fucking chance and we will be back on track.

forgot to say swift is playing well. best half he's had

looking stretched at the back when they break

Lurch wearing the 7 shirt is fairly comically bad isn't he

Yes! 1-0 Swift

Woohoo

Get in!

fuck yea

Swift you tool!

Yes I know  :) Fat fingers

Friendly cuddly Millwall 0
Norwich 3

Hee Hee

(http://i.imgur.com/6Gd9fcH.gif)

Thank fuck  :D

Penalty!

Please score it this time

Pen! Not confident given our recent misses.

one more goal and we are back in autos

Preston winning at MK

2-0

(http://i.imgur.com/qQ99oid.gif)

Yes!!!!

Yay!

fuck yeah

A Preston win is the worst possible result for us.

That will do.

wahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

brain dead defender held willo down. don't think he was getting it :)

Objectivity be damned, an MK loss is always a good thing.

shit

2-0 Preston

Was in the Pork aisle for 1-0, and Cereals for 2-0.  Off now to Frozen Veg.

Wrong move, head for the beer!

comedy. caroll booked for gobbing. fuck face that punched Williams injures himself

Fuck me, how far behind is Player? It's only 1-0 for me and Preston MKD is 0-0.....

Refresh it

Or switch to old version of player.

I'll just wait for this penalty......

2-0...

It's 4-0 now  :)

he's dean gorre'd it. mewahaha

(that's 2 yellows same incident for the young un's)

Attendance is 8,013 (248 from Notts County)

that's decent

More than I was expecting, I thought a knee jerk after Tuesday may have taken it lower.

3-0 Get in

So why was Noble sent off? the commentary team didn't seem to know why and gave no explantation.


Get in Toffo!

Gruffalo!

TOFFO!

tofolohohooooooo

Dissent according to Notts comms

Ah cheers, they just sounded shocked on the Swindon comms and gave no idea as to why.

Oh FFS sort it out BBC Wiltshire - who's getting sent off?

I predict a Town MKD Wembley appointment

Yeah fucking awful comms that.

I really don't think I could face that

Crossbar from a Kasim freekick.

That is a pretty bad scenario isn't it.

FT 3-0

Playing a plastic team in a plastic stadium with some fucking drums.

Its nice listening to the other teams commentators.  They say we're quite good.

Best sending off in years

could be worse,we could get fucking gillingham in the semis and lose!

0-0 at half time so I decided to go and wash the car. I come back and it's 3-0. From here on until the end of the season I think I know what I need to be doing on a Saturday afternoon.

Im starting to believe we wont go down now.  We might even make the play offs.

FUCK YEAH!

Delightful.

7 points and were officially safe.

ha noble what an idiot -sent off in the away fixture back in december

Cooper's subtle comment about the eagle eyed linesman  :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

I have plans already for that weekend.  It's Auto or bust for me.  Can't face Wembley again.

Really is remarkable where we are in the table, given the recent run of poor form.  Still right up there.  But we've had our slump now...and could really do with Preston having another soon.

Cooper really impresses me

Woah slow down there, still early doors.

And having a 'Plan B'...

Bit of a test for him today....made an adjustment, and got the result, so fair play.

The 6th place slot is really silly, something like 4 points cover 10 teams....2 teams in free fall, Barnsley and Posh, sack the manager, and the caretakers have them back in the hunt in about a fortnight.

We needn't concern ourselves with such lowly matters.

Great result, good performance.

First things first, though - that was one of the most bizarre and inept refereeing performances I have ever seen. You can tell how bad it was when the home fans were booing the ref for booking a Notts County player (Carroll). I still have no idea why we got a pen and although the player was giving the ref some verbals, to send him off was harsh.

Add to that the lengthy sermons to players and Derry and it all  made for a weird afternoon - and the ref was by no means a homer, either.

Truly shocking.

Those players who were so bad Tuesday shone today with Swift rightly being MoM. Byrne and Toffolo were so much more lively but it is difficult to understand how Branco can go from the ineptitude of Tuesday to put in such a great performance today.

Cock ups at the back were non-existent, passing was  crisp and incisive - in the main - and I just pray the corner has been turned.

The ref booked the guy for dissent, he then continued to argue, ref gave him a chance to walk away but he continued so out came the second yellow.  They were lucky not have three off, that Carroll is a cunt and deserved his yellow  and the 15 should have gone for gbh on Williams when he was laying on the ground.  Having said that we won 3-0 against a team that looked really poor in the second half (although we were much better then!) and the ref was a total twat who came close to losing the game altogether.

How on earth does a keeper end up with the number of yellows Carroll has had? Does he give pens away every week?

Did that only happen in your head? He got booked for gobbing off to the lino, and rightly so. The fans around me were giving Carroll shit for being such a cunt.

One of the defenders held Willo in the box. Foul. Pen. The lino seemed a little swayed by the home crowds shouts. 90% of the time you don't get them for that, because I doubt Willo was getting anywhere near the ball which was in the process of being cleared.



Nope, it was the one thing that the ref got right. Dissent is a yellow card, to keep going is stupidity itself and if more refs did it then all the surrounding of the ref trying to get a decision would stop.

As I said when it happened, he's Deane Gorre'd it - a Huddersfield player that was sent off for the same thing years ago (although his had more arm waving).

Comedy ref and a pantomime villain helped the atmosphere. The idiot ref seemed to realise he fucked up in the 1st half and gave us just about everything in the 2nd.

Not a great performance but we did enough to beat a very poor Notts County team.

I hope Cooper sticks with one up front for the series of away games coming up.

The commentary, which at times is hugely frustrating, were rather quick and adamant at calling it out as a pen. I guess then it was pretty obvious to anyone in the ground.

I'm not really sure how we won that 3-0 to be honest.  For all the posession we'd had, we didn't really look like scoring.  Suddenly Swift scores from a nothing looking chance and then not long after has another chance, which results in Williams getting the penalty.  I thought he'd been held down, but nobody else by me seemed to have seen it and were surprised when a penalty was given.

As mentioned, the referee was awful.  Totally inconsistent in what he gave fouls for.  He seemed to like the sound if his own voice as well, continually calling players over for a chat that lasted a minute or so.  

As the game went on, the team were playing with far more confidence.  We need to keep that going and hope Preston have hit form a bit early.

That Dean Gorre sending off was an absolute classic, also for dissent. That was 15 years ago !!

I reckon to get the second auto we'll need to win something like 8 of the last 11....a very difficult ask. However even though it's still a long way out, there might just be some benefit in finishing 3rd, in terms of PO positioning.

We could now do with winning on the road again, to restore a bit of confidence.....Vale Park, has been a bit more of a happy hunting ground recently, so a possibility....Donny on a Tuesday night  :no: proper STFC graveyard.

When I saw 1 up top, and a midfield containing Swift my heart sank. So naturally the formation worked, albeit against a piss poor Notts County, and Swift was a very deserving man of the match with an excellent display.

First half first 10 it looked like that if we conceded we would concede a few.  We looked in a bit of a panic, and Wes made two good strong handed saves to keep it 0-0. But as we got to grips with the new formation and County, we pushed them back and started to dominate. Although we didn't create anything of note, we always looked like we could at any moment. Gladin fizzed a shot just wide, but that was about it.

The two controversial parts of the half came when firstly Byrne was booked for diving - hard to see if it was correct from my DRS seat but it looked plausible, and then when Willo took what look like a punch after he and the dirty cunt 15 got tangled up on the floor after a tangle. Now i have a little sympathy with the ref here, he was watching the game, but it happened about 10 feet from the lino who seemed to say he didn't see it. Nice one McGoo. Turnbull was booked for dissent, and that was correct even if understandable given the circumstances.

The ref was shit, no two ways. I'm not sure if he was making up for his ineptitude when he didn't book a county player that looked like a carbon copy of the dive Byrne made, maybe he thought it was a foulf and bottled it who knows.

Second half we , but Swift scored with a fine goal from about 20 yards. A low hard shot was powerful enough and pacey enough to beat Carroll. The second goal County will feel pissed off about, I already commented on it in reply to Audry, but it was a foul in the box, albeit one that doesn't normally get punished when the ball is on its way to being cleared anyway. Swift passed at the right time today, and seemed really well suited to his new free role supporting Williams. So much so Luongo was well and truely in his shadow today.

We added a third later on when Toffolo finally failed to hit the post from inside the area :)  Hylton made a cameo and it provided  a great comedy moment as he came sliding in a bit late on one of the County players. Said player seemed to roll over about 5 times squealing like a pig, must be a fan of Deliverance. Funnily enough he got up without so much as a limp once the free kick and yellow card came.

So Town are back. Well nearly. There were a couple of things to keep an eye on, to be harsh.

Firstly we still look vulnerable on the break. A few times  the County attack exposed us with attacking men left over. Branco made an excellent covering header to deny County a certain goal after a boal over the top caught out Thompson. And a greedy County player elected to blaze one over from distance when he had two players in the clear to his left.

Secondly we still aren't getting enough shots in.

But all in all a good day in the office. Very good indeed.

lino who gave penalty presumably trying to compensate for not spotting their number 15 holding down and punching Williams in the head about 10 feet away from him. How the ref could book Byrne for diving and then not book the Notts number 15 (again) for the same offence 20 minutes later only he can explain. But luckily for him referees don't have to justify their incompetence. Town End called him a Sunday League referee. I'd be well pissed if that short arsed little twat came any where near refereeing my lads games on a Sunday

All the main incidents were about as far away from me in the Arkells as they could be - allied to eyesight failure and my dilemma becomes clear.

So chuffed with the result I'm now baking some chocolate brownies!

We played it against Barnsley , and won 2-0, so it was interesting that Cooper went back to it.  If using it we could pick up a win on the road, then it might be worth pursuing.

And why announce the MoM with 12 mins still to go...

Sorry to hear you missed the 1st goal when you were in the bog  ;)

Mm not bad.

I was seated in DRS quite close to the penalty incident and the defender had his arms right round willo like a bear hug, when there was no danger to them whatsoever. What a tosser. Well taken though, good for confidence.

Buzzing from this. I hope this gives the players the much-needed confidence boost to go on and assault second place, now!

Highlights are Toffolo getting the much deserved goal then Swift passed the ball a considerable amount and took a shot! Hopefully he does that more often. Now onto Port Vale. Let's get a good turnout for this one.

I missed what happened to Willo on the halfway line though, what exactly happened off the ball? DRS seemed to hate the number 15 or number 5 for it.

There was a bit of a tussle with Williams and their 15 which resulted in the number 15 punching pinning him down then punching him. How the linesman didn't see it from 5 yards away is a joke.

They tangled on the floor and Willo appeared to take a punch from the 15 - who immediately ran over to the other side of the field when the ref stopped play.  Fucking lino should have seen it as it was in front of him!

We didn't start very quickly and notts forced Wes into a good double stop but aside from one save in the second half didn't have that much to do. I was getting a bit frustrated as Byrne got booked for a dive and Gladwin couldn't do anything right, although he improved.

First half we played well without really looking that threatening, Willo's chance was one Notts gave us, rather than anything we created.

Second half we got the goal from a delightful run and finish by Swift and then gifted a penalty as Willo tried to get to a rebound but held down on the ground, spotted by the Lino. I though he would miss but didn't, bang in the corner. Notts then faded like my old red ford escort's spoiler after years in the sun and we took control. A great run and pass by Swift put Mass through and his shot well saved by Roy Carroll was gleefully finished by Toffolo. Hurrah!

Swift was rightly man of the match running the show in midfield although I also thought Branco was excellent today, totally bossing Lita. Luongo to me looked a little flat/tired, not his usual energetic self, although he was clearly in a rush to get to London flying past us in his Range Rover Sport at over the speed limit, tut tut! Andy Williams deserved his goal for another 100% committed performance, he really does give his all every match.

Great to get back on track, hopefully we can now kick on.

I didn't even mention the officials today, Barmy performance by them!

Talking of mad officiating, anyone watching West Brom v West Ham? Yacob just got a second yellow for being slide tackled.

Not the greatest display or game I have seen but what a fucking result...get the fuck in.

Ref and indeed the Linos were a total disaster today.....lost control and the plot. I didn't see the punch but that must of been the only dirty thing to happen all match. If you looked at the stats you must of thought it was a bloodbath.....

West Ham have appealed as they reckon they are not playing!

I enjoyed today, well one things settled down after the initial scares. Thought Swift had a good game but needs to play it quicker and easier on occasions. Would like to counter attack more place as we tend to slow the game down and show the opposition to get back and reorganise.

Branco reminds me of skilfull, Brazilian Jon Gittens - one mistake away from disaster  :D

The kit is the right colour!

doh!

Also....I didn't see him put a flag across his chest! Just flagged...? Shite!

I say this quite sincerely...your enthusiasm/optimism is a breath of fresh air.  Think we all get a little jaded as we get older.  STFC does that to you.  But you're doing a good job right now.  Hope you keep it up.  We need more like you.

And good luck with the Loud & Proud relaunch, if you decide to go for it.  The pic of the Town End you put on twitter from just a few years ago shows what we should be aiming for.

A really good result today. I wasn't looking forward to the game and in the first 10 minutes country had a couple of decent efforts. We didn't get a shot on target until nearly half time. Up to half time it was all about the ref. Byrne really was a dopy cunt to get booked for diving. His control was shite and knowing he wasn't going to get it he dived. If the Traders want any evidence of Town players going down, they should get this. We then have their no 15 smacking Willo and getting away with it. He then dived when trying to break through very much a la Byrne and....nothing. So by then he should have had a straight red and a yellow but nada.
The second half we pissed all over them. good finish by Swift but he's still got a lot to learn. Then we have the penalty which was one. Their defender was a dopy twat for conceding it, not that the ref noticed, the lino gave it. It was good to see Gruffalo get the 3rd.
MOM for me was either Stephens or Branco. Stephens did a lot of very simple things well and Branco was Jeckyll not Hyde.  

Thought the support was much improved today, too.

Also, there was a nice touch I noticed as the players came out for the 2nd half. Yasser, who must have been pissed at not starting, low-fived the other players as they came onto the pitch.

Nice gesture.

Yaser has had a lot to deal with recently.  Great form before Christmas and great reviews out in Australia for the Asian Cup.  But since he's been back with us, his form has dipped.  Hardly surprising.  We just need him back to his best now for the run in.  Hopefully taking a back seat briefly will have helped him recharge.

Just noticed the Franchise game is a gold category game at £27. Live on Sky, 12:15 kick off, fuck all away attendance. Struggling to see this one as anything other than a bronze game - get the crowd in, don't give them an excuse to sit in their armchair.

Much improved today, plenty of purposeful play if a little unthreatening in the first half. Lovely goal from Swift who played well going forward and back imo. Notts seemed to lose their heads over nothing. Very odd - Thompson on Willo, Roy Carroll yelling himself into the book and then Noble ranting himself into a double yellow. Bizarre.
Branco was excellent today, I'd be tempted to start that XI again next week.

Top work from the fans today as well. Let's have some more of that.

Can see the gold thinking if had still been on the Friday.
Being a bank holiday and in POs they may have bought more than their usual 300

Don't think will work out that way now an early KO sky extravaganza
Could easily be changed to a bronze now esp as we get paid by the devil sky

Looks as if the categorisation has not been reviewed since the decision by Sky to televise.  I could see 10,000+ of our own fans at this without the complication of TV.  But prob only 8,000 with it (together with the earliet KO).  Seems strange not to adjust prices to reflect the TV showing.  The die hards will go all the same, but latent fans - and especially those out of town - will save themselves the £27.

Most has been said about the game and the shit officials but the crowd were patient from the off.
That helped after the recent form.
Even I was concerned at halftime with one up front and still at 0-0. Patience prevailed and it was never in doubt after we scored the first.
Swift easily motm and laid off the ball when he needed to today. Ran the midfield and fair play to him after taking some stick recently.
Well done us today for sticking with it and getting behind the players.
On to Port Vale an absolute beautiful place and one of the nicest Places in the UK.

Were a few around me in the TE having a pop at Wes in the warm up which soon changed after his 2 early saves, also a lot of groaning going on too.
Helped having shit officials to turn their anger on
Also woke the TE up too

At 2/3-0 did anyone notice the difference in Toffolo? He suddenly got a spring in his step and was skinning their right back for fun. I've been crying out for him to be more adventurous and back his ability, hopefully he'll kick on now.

I thought he was terrible first half as was Gladwin . Both improved after the break and as you said he actually took someone on  which is what we are crying out for.

All in all a good win and a bit of confidence for the players and fans.

That's more like it! Great result and one of our better performances for a while. Hopefully the start of another good run but a tough end to March with Vale, Donny and Colchester all away before our next home game against Franchise.

And there is the rocking the baby celebration

(http://i866.photobucket.com/albums/ab225/mark_woolhouse/willo1_zpsxhgty783.jpg)(http://i866.photobucket.com/albums/ab225/mark_woolhouse/willo_zpsfwwehk15.jpg)

Didnt notice it from other end of ground

I've just had a look at Preston's remaining fixtures.  Looks quite an easy run in to be honest.  Not sure they'll drop many points.

 It's now theirs to throw away.....you never know, but given their squad strength + manager with plenty of previous for getting out of Div 3...the odds are in their favour.

Weren't people saying the same thing about Sheff Utd a few weeks ago?

Much better yesterday. Top 2 is a tall order now but maybe Preston have peaked too soon? Let's hope so.

Even if we have to settle for the play offs there is no team in there that strikes real fear into me. Finishing 3rd or 4th should see us avoid MK.

I think the truth is that no-one knows.  On paper, our Feb 2015 fixtures looked easier than those for the previous month (when we excelled) - and look what happened.

With two months of the season to go, predicting which of two teams separated by 2 points is going to finish best is a mug's game.  Put on a blindfold and throw a set of darts at a board.  Just as reliable a method for predicting in my view.

The odds are slightly in Preston's favour but only slightly. They are in the driver's seat at the moment but as Ardiles says, 2 points over 11 games is absolutely nothing. And who knows what constitutes an 'easy' game or a 'hard' game any way? Crawley looked 'easy' on paper for us and Fleetwood looked an 'easy' fixture for Sheff Utd yesterday. I'm sorry IOB, but saying 2nd spot is a 'tall order' at this stage is frankly ridiculous.

God knows how we lost that 3-0.
 
For the first hour I honestly thought we were excellent today. Their defence looked very shakey and we really should have been winning within the first few minutes but for a couple of superb saves from their keeper. Swindon grew into it and were keeping the ball well, but we were keeping our shape and they weren't really creating anything. As a result of that the home crowd were starting to get on their backs and frustration was creeping in.
 
Then they go 1-0 up out of absolutely nothing. Good finish from their lad though I guess you can look at our defence and ask how he had the time to pick his spot and shoot the way he did. Avoidable, but thats the difference between the top sides and the bottom sides - that ability to grab a goal from nothing.
 
Once they scored we folded like a deck chair. The penalty a couple of minutes later was dubious to say the least, but the way Roy Carroll carried on at the officials was downright embarrassing - the referee isn't going to suddenly change his mind and wipe that goal out ten minutes later is he? Sort it out Roy for christ sake.
 
Credit to our lads we kept huffing and puffing and had a few half chances, but the third goal was truly woefull.
 
And Liam Noble, well he should never play for this club again in my opinion - his red card today was absolutely pathetic, just constant arguing with the ref even after being booked. The bloke's too much of a liability and I wouldn't have him anywhere near the side again - sod him off.
 
Deffinitely a lot more positives than what I saw at Bristol City. There was a clear attacking threat in JCR and Paddy on the wings with Lita the lone striker. He did alright today, but the problem was there was nobody there to gamble on the flick ons so he had a pretty impossible job. But given a run of games together surely that force will bear fruit. Mind you it'd be nice if JCR actually crossed the ball occasionally rather than trying 87 stepovers before losing the ball.
 
Gutted by that, 3-0 isn't a fair reflection at all, honestly felt we were on for a point or three for the first hour, but the game changed in a split second and that was goodnight irene. So frustrating.
 
Will we stay up? If we start taking our chances we should get the points we require, but it worries me how long we've been saying that...

Funny how some see the game, another Notts fan also said we should have been down to ten men early on... any ideas?

He's answering his own musings...

Im pretty sure their no 15 who was involved with williams yesterday was the one that gladwin tore a new arsehole up in nottingham for our second goal earlier in the season.

They had probably the worst discipline from a side I have seen in a hell of a long time both from the bench and on the pitch

We will need 8 wins from 11 if Preston carry on the way they are. That is a tall order. Of course they might not but I was going on that basis.

We'll win our 5 remaining home games plus the away games at Port Vale, Colchester and Rochdale.

There you go!

If we beat Preston and Franchise we'll be on our way to the Autos rather quickly again. Preston will have to trip up a little bit again but there will only be a point or so in it I reckon.

It's going to be a last day of the season decider I feel.

Was really impressed with Swift yesterday. He's the one player who has infuriated me the most in the past, with his poor decision making, but yesterday was much more involved in linking play and he took his goal well too. Bit more directness to our overall play and Wes went long a few times too. A lot of people were critical of Cooper before the game for going one up front, but when you've got attacking midfielders like Luongo and Swift I don't think that's a negative tactic. Defence also looked a lot stronger and cohesive, although Thompson still gives me a panic attack at least once a game.
I don't know how much you can read into the result, County, all bar the first few minutes, were woeful, but if the win helps regain some confidence in the team then we could go on another run. Port Vale will give us a better indication of whether our season will be extended or not.
Great atmosphere yesterday, helped in no small part by the ineptitude of the officials and the total lack of discipline from some of the County players. I thought Carroll was gonna have a total breakdown!

I expect a Bristol City/Preston North End automatic promotion outcome (which is probably how people expecting it to be at the seasons start). Obviously I hope to be comprehensively proven wrong.

What's essential is that Town keep playing well and maintain the positive results until the seasons end unlike what we experienced when entering the 2012/13 Play-Offs under poor ol' Kevin MacDonald.

As always, I'm just happy to be in this scenario rather than in that horrible pack of teams who are chasing between 5th and 15th(!)

One good post on the Notts County forum saying this is what their strikers were like yesterday.

(http://i.imgur.com/47DeS85.gif)

Preston will drop points in games where they will be expecting all 3, as will we and as will Franchise. Hopefully we will do it less often than they do.

I suppose all we can hope for is that yesterday's result marks the start of us getting back to our previously excellent form. That will give us every chance of making second but at worst will mean we go into the play offs as the form side. What Costanza said really.

Likewise, I agree that I am happy to be where we are rather than the huge chasing pack (and by the way, we all have to play teams in that pack).

One last thing that it's worth remembering - This time 4 short years ago, we were in  24th spot with 32 points, our main striker was Calvin Andrew* and we were managed by....

.....Paul....Hart......

(http://i774.photobucket.com/albums/yy30/FishytheFish/GunnShudder.gif)


*Thanks to http://www.swindon-town-fc.co.uk/ as there is no way I could have remembered all that.

To be honest that Notts County fan report isn't a million miles from being correct. Where I disagree is that County and Lita in particular never looked threatening after the Wes double save, and that although we created little before Swift scored it always looked like we would create something. That sounds an odd thing to say, but what I saw was the 'probing' phase was always going to turn into chances.

Wes was back to near best yesterday. I don't get the TE frustration in trying to hurry him up releasing the ball when we are 2-0 up though.
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Not noticed it mentioned anywhere, but the pitch was poor yesterday. Bobble bobble bobble.

My thinking would be, the opposition are low on confidence and down to 10 men = ideal conditions to go on the attack and score more goals to better our goal difference.

Yes, but given we still looked vulnerable to the counter attack he played it right. Points first.

The Wes to Branco on the chest kick out worked probably 50% of the time yesterday. At least we have a different option when Nathan is too heavily marked to pass the ball to.

Branco's throw-ins are still wank

Highlights are up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_VDohyTaFs

There you go Mr Notts County manager, 30 seconds in, your defender is cuddling Andy Williams preventing him from moving towards the ball.  I hope that helps you in your quest to work out why it was a penalty.

I don't think Williams was THAT held back, sure the defender had his arm on him a little bit but honestly I think Willo makes a bit of a meal of it. I'd be annoyed if notts county were given a penalty for that if the espadrille was on the other foot.

In fact that's probably why he runs about so much during a game, the amount of meals he makes of things.

What's he on about? It was blatantly a penalty.

But at the same time from what Ive heard if their player had been sent of for punching Willo then maybe it would have changed the whole complexion of the game.

All ifs and buts Mr Derry.

I have no idea why one of the defenders is doing the Dudek behind Williams, facing his own goalkeeper, during the penalty. Weird.

Very strange.  Surely the only person it would put off is Carroll?

the shadow was right by the ball

On a similar note, I had someone behind me shout ' Get it forward' at 3-0. Cock.

Is there any footage of the punch?

I don't think donkey would have gone that far  :)

Oh, I don't know...

There is some footage of the punch on the Notts County extended highlights on their player. It's not clear what happens though but it doesn't look nice because Willo is already on his back and their number 15 is all over him.

Me too... In the DRS?

I think it must have been when Byrne got booked. The defender cleared the ball, Byrne went in to block the clearance and just caught the defender, who jumped up in the air like a frightened cat. Liner waved for a foul and Byrne got booked. Carrol came over and exaggerated a foot-up motion, intimating that Byrne should have been sent off for a dangerous challenge, which it never was.

I thought Byrne got booked for diving, not for clipping the defender.

There may have been a foul after that, that could have been a second yellow. I remember thinking "oh bugger" at the time. Can't say for certain it was Byrne though.

Sorry, yes you're right, he was booked for the dive. Therefore, I suppose he could possibly have got a second for the foul, which Carrol seemed to be wanting.

Yep. I was sitting in J88.

Then there's more than one... I'm row J, near the Town End, and heard similar...

I was in corp'e and heard nothing.