The opponent: Notts County
So it seems the dust has settled on a rather dismal effort against Brentford. Paolo tried to get one more signing in, rumoured to be Gary Madine (I wonder how many Twitter followers he has lost since?), but technicalities seem to throw the proverbial spanner in the works, so it looks like we will have to go with what we have got until January begins, of which really should be enough to keep us there or thereabouts. Time will tell.
On we roll to the birthplace of Boots the Chemist, Raleigh Cycles, HP Sauce (The HP stands for Houses of Parliament) and today’s opposition, the world’s oldest football club, Notts County, formed in 1862. I still reminisce about my Chopper, (insert own joke here), and a bacon sarnie with a bit of HP really does hit the spot, so I am thankful to Nottingham for that, if nothing else. Now its fair to say Nottingham has history, and lots of it. We all know about Robin Hood and the legend of Sherwood Forest, but what if we dig a little deeper? Nottingham can proudly call itself the inventor of Ibuprofen, which could well be useful after coming home from Nottingham’s Goose Fair, which has existed since at least 1284! Urban Nottingham itself has a population of around 620’000, and is one of just 8 core cities recognised by the government. Interestingly, we could have been playing SNOTTS County today, as in 600 AD, a Saxon King named Snot (really), named the place ‘Snotingaham’, I can’t understand why they ever changed it to its current form. One of the noticeable cities that Nottingham is twinned with is Harare in Zimbabwe, home to ageing dictator, Robert Mugabe, perhaps that’s why Nottingham has the highest rate of gun crime in The UK.
Despite the age of The Magpies, most neutrals away from Meadow Lane would see that they have spent many years living in the shadow of their neighbours, European Cup winning Nottingham Forest. They have had their troubles in recent times, financial problems (remember Sven and Sol Campbell?) has seen the club owned by a supporters trust, who then sold the club to supposedly rich Arabs, Munto Finance. Further monetary difficulties saw the club sold, for a nominal fee, to Peter Trembling, who then sold the club to some crazy fella named Ray Trew for £1 after the club had been served with two winding up petitions from our old friends, HM Revenue and Customs, due to demands for a late PAYE payment of around £500,000. Mr Trew still owns the club now.
Nottingham has some famous sons and daughters, in fact there are so many I could start a thread on them alone, they include, Hi De Hi actress Su Pollard, political podgers, Ken Clarke and Ed Balls, Boxing’s Carl Froch, Botanist Robert Darwin, Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson, Footballers, Jermaine Pennant, Jermaine Jenas, Tom Huddlestone, the list is endless. Perhaps one of the most notorious Nottinghamian residents in recent history is everyone’s favourite doctor, Harold Shipman.
What are they saying about us? – Brilliantly thought out title “Score and Attendance v Swincanio”
“Can't understand why the guy isn't vilified more due to all his Nazi leanings. Seems the attitude is that he's just a mad foreign bloke”
“Seems like he is a one man show there!!
Notts County 2 - 0 Swindicanio
Di-canio getting fired after this match
We all live in Hope”
http://boards.footymad.net/forum.php?tno=402&fid=17&sty=2&act=1&mid=2113750022Notts County Last 6 – DLWDDD (Notts County currently 8th place on 31 points)
The Threat – French Striker Yoann Arquin currently leads the way with 6 goals, Fat bald lag lee Hughes has 5 to his name so far this season. New signing Chris Iwelumo will be looking to make an impression on his debut too.
A Warm Welcome Too – Another member of the talented (allegedly) but lazy club, Alan Sheehan. I am sure the travelling red army will show plenty of appreciation to the left footed one, who so far this season has seen 3 yellows and 1 red card.
The irrelevant stats - the Magpies home form has not been great so far this season, having won 3, drawn 2 and lost 4. They have scored 13 times at home so far this season and have conceded 12 at the same time. It would seem they concede most of their goals in the 2nd half having let in 10 in the last 45 minutes but only 2 in the first half.
Head to Head – (At Notts County) We have Won 6, Lost 16, Drawn 6
The Odds – Notts County
8/5 Draw
11/5 Swindon
13/8 (Paddy Power) Correct score odds may be worth a look, fancy a repeat of the Stevenage performance with a 0-4 score line? Just the
80/1 with Tote and Paddy Power or a 0-0 bore draw is
10/1 with Bet365. First goalscorer odds are the normal suspects, Collins and Martin anywhere between 5’s and 7’s, or if you really want to waste a few quid, Sheehan is
25/1 with Bet365. Think I will be going for half time draw/full time Swindon at
11/2 with Coral.
Sid Says – I thought he was limping a bit this morning but he seems to have walked it off during the day and happily wandered towards a 1-1 draw.
The Prediction – With County’s form at home being a bit naff and our away form being better than average so far this season I will stick my neck out and go for a 2-0 Town win, with goals from Ritchie and Collins, 5’922 in attendance with 912 making the journey to Nottingham.
And Finally – Shin pads for football were invented in Nottingham in the late 19th Century. In 1865 a group of youngsters attached to St. Andrew's Church on Mansfield Road, Nottingham, formed a football club and since they played on the Forest Recreation Ground, the town's racecourse, they called themselves Nottingham Forest.
Hacking of shins, tripping and elbowing were allowed and the goalkeeper could be charged out of the way of a shot even if he was nowhere near the ball. Forest were the first team to wear the shin guards, invented by club player Samuel Widdowson in 1874, whether they lent any to County is another matter all together.
