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Birighitti Rejects Magpies

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Notts County boss Manuel Pablo's plan to replace 1 million pound Norwich signing Fabian Spiess with Aussie keeper Mark Birighitti has fallen at the final hurdle with the Australian choosing to re-sign with Newcastle Jets.

The Magpies are believed to have had a 230k bid for the 23 year old keeper accepted & had been confident of securing his signature after successful contract negotiations however Birighitti has today announced he will be staying with the Jets & has extended his contract until 2017.

With the end of the January window fast approaching time is running out for the Spaniard to strengthen his squad for the tough relegation battle ahead.


 
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Notts Land MASSIVE Signing

Pun definitely intended today as Notts County have announced the signing of 197cm Finnish striker Eero Markkanen. The 23 year old arrives from Real Madrid for a reported fee of 295K with Magpie fans hoping the giant Finn's impact on the pitch can match his enormous presence off it.


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Manuel Pablo sez: "Holy ****! Who planted the magic beans?!?!"
 
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Unfortunate loss mate. Love the storytelling so keep it going :)
 
Unfortunate loss mate. Love the storytelling so keep it going :)

Thanks mate, will be on the road most of today so not sure if I will get the January update done late this arvo or early tomorrow morning but once i'm back home have 3 full days of FMing before i have to go back to work :) :) :)
 

January 2015

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Notts Co. 1 - Crewe 1
Created enough chances to win 3 games, only put 1 away & got punished by the softest penalty ever awarded.

P.O.M. - James Jones (Crewe)




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Notts Co. 2 - Peterborough 2
Took an early lead before letting 2 in. Fought back in the end to ****** a point.

P.O.M. - Michael Bostwick (Peterborough)



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Oldham 0 - Notts Co. 3
The perfect display of counter attacking football. Didn't see a lot of the ball but tore them apart when we did.

P.O.M. - Hayden White (Notts)





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Manuel's Monthly Musing's

"Not the worst month to start. Not the best though either. A loss, 2 draws & a win gives us 5 points from a possible 12. Its enough to keep us out of the relegation spots but not by much.

The Oldham result was definitely the highlight however the boys also played very well against Crewe. The loss to Bristol was disappointing but it was always going to be a tough ask to turn the team around in 2 days.

Very happy with our limited transfer dealings thus far (still 2 days to make a last ditch play or 2). To get a million pounds for Spiess was incredible considering his value was listed at 51k!!! While Eero Markkanen should prove to be good value for money at 300k.

Am still weighing up a move for a veteran English midfielder who I think would be sensational for us but the Markkanen deal has put us back over our wage budget so it will be dependant on me off loading some more players."




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February Fixtures

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February could be the perfect chance to get clear of the relegation zone. Only Leyton Orient (4th) are in the top half while Chesterfield & Port Vale look certainties for relegation & as such are must win matches at home.
 
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January Transfer Wrap
Top 10

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Fabio Borini - Liverpool to Wolfsburg 11.25 Mil



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Alexandre Lacazette - Lyon to Juventus 7.25 Mil



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Charles Kabore - Kuban to Fiorentina 6 Mil


Naxto Monreal - Arsenal to Hull 4.1 Mil

Fagner - Wolfsburg to Corinthians 3.4 Mil

Keisuke Honda - A.C. Milan to Fiorentina 3.3 Mil

Jefferson Farfan - Shalke to Inter 3 Mil

Nikola Makslmovic - Torino to A.C. Milan 3 Mil

Stefano Okaka - Sampdoria to Fiorentina 2.8 Mil

Pione Sisto - Midtjylland to Liverpool 2.5 Mil

 
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February 2015


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Notts Co. 2 - Chesterfield 1
Eero Markkenan gets his first & second goals for the club to lead us to victory.

P.O.M. - Eero Markkenan (Notts)



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Leyton Orient 1 - Notts Co. 1
A very good result away to second placed Orient. Markkenan scores again, the big man is looking good!

P.O.M. - Gary MacDonald (Orient)



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Notts Co. 1 - Preston 2
Threw the points away here, 1-0 up in the closing stages we switched off for the first & couldn't hold them out for the second

P.O.M. - Chris Humprey (Preston)



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Fleetwood 0 - Notts Co. 3
Another good performance on the road. Markkenan, Gros & Daniels getting the goals.

P.O.M. - Eero Markkenan (Notts)


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Postponed




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Manuel's Monthly Musing's​


"Not a bad month in all. 7 points from a possible 12 & we are at least moving in the right direction, albeit slowly. The Preston result was hard to take as I thought we controlled the match for 75 minutes but they just finished over the top of us, can't help but think our lead would have been more defendable if I hadn't rested Markkenan.

Speaking of the big Finn, he has been our shining light this month scoring 4 goals. Strike partner, Gros, has chipped in with 2, though I am still not sold on him as he has been very wasteful, while in defence fullback Hayden White (loan) has resigned Sierra Leone international Mustapha Dumbuya to the bench with some consistently solid displays.

Tactic wise I seem to have settled on a fairly unremarkable flat 4-4-2 with Markkenan & Gros my preferred strike partnership. In midfield I am retraining Blair to play left mid as I believe he is wasted a bit in defence whilst, at the back, Donervon Daniels (loan) & Haydn Hollis have been my first choice centre pairing."






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March Schedule

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A very busy month coming up, very tough as well. Swindon lead the comp, Bradford are 3rd &, with the exception of Port Vale, all our other opponents are in the top half or challenging for promotion. A stern test of our new found confidence.
 
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March 2015



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Colchester 1 - Notts Co. 1

Despite playing 10 men for the final 15 minutes, a solid draw against a Colchester side challenging for the playoffs.

P.O.M. - Balint Bajner (Notts)



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Swindon 2 - Notts Co. 1

Fought hard but the league leaders were too strong, a Blair Adams own goal not helping our cause.

P.O.M. - Billy Daniels (Notts)




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Notts Co. 4 - Port Vale 2

A Markkenan hat trick gets us the points against bottom placed Port Vale, not too impressed with our defending.

P.O.M. - Eero Markkenan (Notts)




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Notts Co. 1 - Bradford 3

Sad to say we didn't put up much of a fight here. Bradford are strong but we were poor, Liam Noble excluded.

P.O.M. - Liam Noble (Notts)




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Notts Co. 1 - Rochdale 0

A good win in a very tight contest. Ronan Murray grabbing a goal in a rare start.

P.O.M. - Ronan Murray (Notts)




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MK Dons 4 - Notts Co. 0

Our worst performance since taking over. Really don't have a good thing to say!

P.O.M. - Dele Ali (MK Dons)




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Notts Co. 1 - Scunthorpe 0

A good "bounce back" win in a hard fought game, Balint Bajner coming off the bench to grab the winner.

P.O.M. - Hayden Mullins (Notts)





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Manuel's Monthly Musing's

" An up & down month but all in all I can't be too disappointed. We were up against some tough competition but still managed to bank a respectable 10 points (from a possible 21). Unfortunetly the teams around us have also been winning so our position on the table hasn't improved but it is encouraging that we are closer to being in the top half then we are to relegation, points wise anyway.

On the pitch, Eero Markkenan has continued to impress bagging another 5 goals (that's 9 goals in 10 matches) while Liam Noble, Ronan Murray & Danny Haynes have all managed to impress when handed a chance.

With 14 first team players off contract at the end of the year I have began to make some decisions about the future here at Notts. Veteran midfielder Alan Smith is well past his prime & has failed to impress so has been told to move on, while I have extended the contract of Ivory Coast DM Drissa Traore. Am still undecided on the likes of William Gros, Mustapha Dumbuya & Balint Bajner so our closing matches will be their last chance to impress & win new deals."





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The Run Home

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Still some tough games to play. Yeovil, Barnsley & Crawley are all challenging for the playoffs while at the other end of the spectrum Gillingham, Doncaster & Coventry have all struggled so it will be important to pick up points there. All things considered, I think we are a great chance of not only staying up but getting safely into mid table.

 
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April 2015



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Walsall 2 - Notts Co. 2

A Liam Noble brace looked to have won us the match before Walsall struck late to pinch a point

P.O.M. - Liam Noble (Notts)



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Notts Co. 0 - Coventry 0

An open, free flowing game that somehow ends in a 0 all draw. Lack of finishing perhaps the reason both sides are struggling

P.O.M. - Liam Noble (Notts)



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Yeovil 6 - Notts Co. 1

An absolute nightmare performance! Would like to say Daniels red card hurt us but we were already 4-0 down at the time.

P.O.M. - Devarn Green (Yeovil)



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Notts Co. 1 - Barnsley 4

Another horrendous performance which puts us in the drop zone, things are going south very quickly!

P.O.M. - Milan Lalkovic (Barnsley)



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Crawley 1 - Notts Co. 0

Godamnf@cknc*nts! 3 losses in a row now, we are all but gone, the only team we can catch is Bristol City who have a way better goal difference then us.

P.O.M. - Liam O'Neill (Crawley)



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Notts Co. 2 - Doncaster 1

A Markkenan brace moves us above Bristol who lost, before this the big Finn had played 10 hours without scoring!

P.O.M. - Eero Markkenan (Notts)





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The Final Showdown

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A very simple equation, win or even draw & we stay up, lose & its all up to Bristol City. Will leave my musings until after this game as the my mood will be largely dependant on this result.




 
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May 2015



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Gillingham 0 - Notts Co. 0

If we'd lost this game we would have deserved to be relegated, to be honest I'm still not sure we deserve to survive but, hey, I wont argue.

P.O.M. - Scott Tancock (Gillingham)



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Manuels Season Wrap

"God ****! This manager business is stressful!!! We survive the drop this year but I fear without significant improvements to the first team we will be fighting for our lives again next time around.

I must admit the competitiveness of the league has surprised me. When I took charge at Notts I didn't think we were as bad as our league position indicated but after watching our performances I am worried we may actually be worse!

To prove my point, Eero Markkenan arrived towards the end of January, played 16 games & finished as the teams top scorer with 11! No one else got into double figures. Vast improvements are required across the board.

To that end I am relieved to see so many contracts expiring at the end of the year, this should allow me the wage room to add a few decent players to the roster (assuming I can find any).

What will I be looking for you ask? Well just about everything! I am happy with Blair Adams at left back, Drissa Traore as my half back & Eero Markkenan as my target man. The rest is up for grabs.

Tactic wise I have failed to find my groove here in England. The game is faster & more physical then I am accustomed to but this was always going to be a steep learning curve. When pre-season comes around I will once again throw myself into the task at hand but for now its time for a well earned holiday! See you all in a couple of months...."


 
very nice layout I think anyway :)

Thanks mate, may not look like much but a lot of work goes into it! (a lot for me anyway)

Was beginning to think no one was following :'(
 
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im sure people are following, especially if they read your India story. BTW does the end of the season mean you will be returning to India like you said?
 
im sure people are following, especially if they read your India story. BTW does the end of the season mean you will be returning to India like you said?

Um.....not real sure on that just yet. I'm itching to get my India u23 career under way & secure a league title for East Bengal but at the same time i want to improve this notts side while everything is still fresh in my mind as well. Will just see what happens i guess...
 
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