Blarney

Match Twenty-Seven from Meadow Lane I think we stole this one Yes we out-shot them. Yes we had a small possession advantage. Yes we should have won based on xG. But I watched this one unfold and for everything we did right... they just seemed to have an answer. We got the shots off but we couldn't put them on target where they did. And they played in our half much more than we did even though we held the possession advantage. Every time we touched the ball they were on us. We snuck one in in the 92nd minute and if we had been at their house we probably would have snuck away without showering just to get away as quickly as we could.

Match Twenty-Six from Boundary Park, Oldham they came to play After thrasing them 3-1 at our house a few days ago, we traveled to Oldham and although we put constant pressure on them, they definitely played a tougher defense this time around. Credit to Oldham for changing their game and making it much harder on us to score.

Social Media Reactions past the midway point The Independent A quality month from what has looked like a quality club all year long. At least point any detractors to the Eddie Sirrel hiring have gone in hiding as there's not much you can possibly complain about at this point. That's not to say things have been perfect or that they could change in an instant but it would be a little shocking as this club has pretty much rolled over all opposition this year so far. The Non-League Paper We're a few games past halfway through the season and at this point - to THIS point - there's nobody alive that can say that what Eddie Sirrel has done out there has been nothing short of a miracle for Notts County. Maybe a miracle is too much, this has been a good club the past few years - in National League standards - but right now they're playing like League Two contenders. And all they have to do is hold on and they're going to be in League Two this time next season. Nottingham Post Do you hear that? That's crickets coming from the anti-Eddie Sirrel camp. Look, we had our questions also but so far he's answered each one in spades. We're not ready to hang Legendary next to his name, let's not get ahead of ourselves... but so far this season he's done everything asked of him and more. Nottinghamshire Live I think we asked who the real Notts County was after their first match this season. I think now we know who they are. @TheBlackAndWhiteArmy Podcast I've been saying that Eddie was the answer before the season even started. Everyone else is just along for the ride now. @Magpie4Lyfe The offense has been good, the defense has been outstanding. @NottsCoFan4ever Color me one of the non-believers... but I'm willing to admit now that I was probably wrong. Lots of season left to go. @NateFromNotts I still stand by my comments that Langstaff is a beast and that Mickey Mouse could manage him but I'm loving the winning nonetheless. @StacyHeartsCounty Notts County is the best. Eddie Sirrel is still cute? Is he single? Too much? @Notts4TheWin BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG Won't stop 'till we're LEGENDS! I'm loving the music. I'm loving the enthusiasm of the supporters. Let's go Pies!

I appreciate the kind comments. Yes, much like what you've said and how I've always attempted to do my saves, I like to try and incorporate something real... or something that could be real - like the grandson of a legendary coach coming in to save a club. I like to use players that have an attachment to the club like Les Bradd and come up with something that 'makes sense' even though it's obviously fantasy. That's where I find my attachment. That and I do like to write but I need to feel something personal, immerse myself in the story to make it my own or to feel that connection. Unfortunately I also bring a little of my fiery personality (my heritage is Irish - can trace my family starting with my great-grandfather and great-grandmother back to Kilarney) in to saves, which has been my downfall with Notts County on a couple of occassions where I've said or done things in game that put me at odds with the board and I end up being fired, so I'm trying very hard this time to be more like a young manager would be and try to earn my way to be able to be slightly 'pushy' when I need things done my way rather than starting off with that temperment. I also suffer from some mental issues, which I've talked about a little on here which have interferred with my ability to concentrate at times or allow myself to enjoy what I'm doing, but I'm in a good place right now and really feeling this save for some reason - which is good. Hopefully that continues because I really do love Notts County and I love the sport and I love this game. Am looking forward to FM25 coming out and whatever improvements they have made there and for this save to continue and for me - in my little fantasy world - to get Notts to a place they've never been before.

Tough loss against Tott but a good run nonetheless. It looks like Man City is in it to win it but they're last 5 matches have pulled them back toward the pack a bit, especially with West Ham going on a run.

December in Review Schedule We continue to roll with a perfect month. Our dormant offense really caught fire this month with 18 goals scored in 5 matches. Table Woking lost a match this last month so we widened the gap on them, now holding a 14 point advantage for the top spot. National League Team Stats We retook the top spot in overall goals scored, no surprise there given our output this last month. And we still hold the top spots in almost every other offensive category as well. National League Player Stats Macaulay is up to 31 goals now... but he's not the only one having a great season. Look at all those names on the leaderboards. Financials Lost. Money. Again. Youth Intake Hey... we had our youth intake revealed this month. And it's terrible. Awesome!

Match Twenty-Five from Meadow Lane the first of back-to-back This was all Langstaff... and a good defensive effort. Oldham had no answer for the pressure we put on them until the 2nd half when they snuck one by.

FA Trophy Third Round from Meadow Lane nice win 3 up and 3 down versus Gateshead. They have to be tired of seeing us this season. With respect, we've done a pretty good job of pushing them around in our 3 matches... none of which were particuly close affairs. Now we just need to continue this sort of play.

FA Trophy Preview Gateshead Trent Crimm You played Gateshead earlier in the season and won the match 4-1 and just beat them again a couple of days ago 4-2. Now you play them again (back-to-back) matches, do you think that gives you an advantage or is beating a club 3 times in one season more difficult? Eddie Sirrel I like the back-to-back because it gives us time to just concentrate on one opponent. Plus we're at home so the boys get a nice little rest and some much needed time with their families. We've already shown twice this season that we have the ability to score against Gateshead but we can't let complacency take root. If we don't go out there and perform it could lead to an early exit from this competition. Nottingham Post Langstaff has had 2 great matches against his former club as did Scott in the first match, but he was injured this time around. Will he be ready for this contest? Eddie Sirrel He probably could have been on the pitch this last time out but we wanted to take a couple of extra days and get him some rest and make sure he was ready for this important match. Nottingham Post You had a somewhat early exit in the FA Cup - although most didn't think you were going to go too far. How do you see this competition? Eddie Sirrel I like our chances but as I've said a million times it's all on us to perform. There are no easy matches once you start thinking they're easy. One mistake out there can be the difference between a win or a loss. We know what's ahead of us, we know how good we can be, but we have to go out there and show it every time out.

Match Twenty-Four from Meadow Lane nice win We won at Gateshead in our first match 4-1 and took this one 4-2 so if anything we know we can put it in the net against them. Langstaff scored twice more against his former club. Unfortunately Scott has been our injured and missed this one. We also meet Gateshead again in just a few days in a FA Trophy match.

Match Twenty-Three from York Road, Maidenhead a thriller at York Road We have played 25 matches this season (including Cups) and this is the first time we've given up more than 2 goals. In fact in all those matches we've only given up more than 1 goal 4 times now - including this match. That's some incredible defense, so I'm not going to be too sore at the lads for having one "bad" game out there. On the other side our dormant offense came alive in this one, so there is that. I'm sure this was a thriller for the fans in attendance.

Match Twenty-Two from Glanford Park, Scunthorpe tough win The numbers say we deserved a win, albeit by the slimmest of margins but Scunthorpe really played a good game here. We held a good possession advantage but really didn't turn that to too much of an advantage. Shots were relatively equal, we just managed to get one extra in. We stopped them when we needed to and that was the difference in the match.

November in Review Schedule Disappointing loss in the FA Cup against Stockport but the league has always been our number 1 concern this season regardless. Not as many goals scored this month but only 1 allowed in 4 matches is good. Table 9 points up about halfway through the season. I almost hate to say it but it feels like a 2-horse race between us and Woking who have only lost 2 matches all season compared to our 1. We just beat Yeovil - who's in 3rd place - to knock them back a little. Obviously there's a long way to go and a lot that could go wrong - including our players getting tired, so we need to do a good job of managing work-load in the 2nd half to maintain our lead. National League Team Stats Woking has surpassed us in goals scored but we still hold the #1 spots in possession, shots on target, conversion rate and pass completion ratio. National League Player Stats Langstaff still having a Player of the Season type year. Financials Still continuing to lose money......

Match Twenty-One from Meadow Lane streak over... Let's be honest, it was bound to happen. We couldn't hold our opponents out of the net each game for the rest of the season. 3 matches in a row was pretty impressive... and we only allowed 1 here. Unfortunately we also only got 1, which seems to be a trend as well on our end. By the numbers we probably deserved the win but we'll settle for the draw and try to figure out what's going on with our scoring.

Match Twenty from Meadow Lane 3 straight clean sheets now 3 straight matches now where we have not given up a goal. None of them have been easy but we're finding ways to win and that mostly revolves around not letting our opposition but the ball in the net. That's a good way to continue winning... or at least earning a draw.

Match Nineteen from Silverlake Stadium, Eastleigh clean sheet So let's talk about our defense. Since our first loss of the season 2 matches ago we've pitched 2 straight shutouts (definitely an American phrase - referring to baseball but means not allowed a score against us.) Our offense on the other hand has definitely slowed down but a 1-0 win (as I've said before) is still a win. What's really been impressive this season is our defense more than anything. And honestly that's going to help us moving up the pyramid more than our offense will I think. So hopefully that continues.

I feel you. I think I've started and abandoned at least 8 saves over the past year. I think I pour too much into each one and have these ideas about how I want them to go and then when they don't, I get disappointed and lose enthusiasm to continue them. Plus, as I've said elsewhere, I have a hard time pushing myself to do saves with clubs that I don't know well, even when they sound like good ideas because I don't have that attachment... and my saves tend to always be personal in some way. In the end you have to do what's right for you and if you're not feeling it... there's no reason to push it and not feel good about it.

Been busy, playing catch up over your last season - had an excellent year. Here's to another one. It shows perseverance, patience and smart moves can pay off.

Match Eighteen from Roots Hall, Southend-on-Sea last minute is as good as any I really like the way Southend plays. They control the tempo and wait for their chances. We do the same so between both clubs it was just like playing a game of chess. And it lasted nearly the full game. Between the 2 clubs in the first half there were 6 total shots -- probably boring to most fans in the stadium - but it was all about possession and picking spots. We ramped up the pressure a little in the 2nd half and finally got one in the 86th minute. Just a few minutes later we got another on an own-goal which put the game away. Credit Southend for really making us work for this one.

Transfer News Rodrigues out We were told early on that he wouldn't be considering renewing his contract and there were going to be work permit issues anyway so our best and really only option was to get whatever we could for him.

FA Cup First Round from Edgeley Park so close It just wasn't our day. We went down 0-2 in the first half after a few missed opportunities. We had one goal called back for off-sides which looked very close to me. And then we hit the wood on another shot where Langstaff was 1v1 against their keeper. We came out in the 2nd half playing better and put one in but then Stockport seemed to just sit back and harass us and we just couldn't get shots off. Congrats to them for playing our game and dictating tempo. They were just the better side today.

Stockport Preview FA Cup First Round Trent Crimm You're up against League Two side, Stockport in your FA Cup First Round match. How has training been and do you think you have a chance at coming away with the win here? Eddie Sirrel We're as prepared as we're going to be, the boys are feeling good. No major injuries to speak of currently. We'll be at mostly full strength and ready to play. That's about all I can ever ask. We're going to go out there and give it everything we have. Nottingham Post You're traveling to Edgeley Park. Does playing at their house make any difference to you compared to being at home? Eddie Sirrel We'll have our fair share of supporters traveling there but of course we'd rather be at home in front of our fans. It won't make a difference in how we play though.

October in Review Schedule So we suffered our first loss of the season, but overall obviously still a good month. 5 league wins vs the 1 loss. And a win in our FA Cup match as well. Table We are 9 points up on Woking now, who finally decided to lose a match (2) as well. National League Team Stats We slipped a spot in average possession but our stat domination has mostly continued for the past 3 months now. National League Player Stats Langstaff still on top. Finances Even making a small amount of money is better than losing any.

First Loss Presser Trent Crimm So it took 17 matches but you've finally - I don't know that finally is the right word - lost your first match. What's your reaction and how is the team doing? Eddie Sirrel Well it had to happen at some point, I mean I wasn't going to go my whole career never losing a match. I'm not horribly upset. I think we did not play our best out there and that's my fault. That's the only upsetting thing. No disrespect to Torquay but we just didn't play well in front of the goal. A lot of missed opportunities. Trent Crimm You decided to rest Macaulay Langstaff for this match. Are you regretting that decision now? Eddie Sirrel I love Mac... absolutely love him. But if this club is only about him and we're worried about losing just because we give him some much needed rest, we're in trouble as a club. So no, I don't blame this loss on resting him and it's not something I'm going to look back at and wonder if we would have won with him. Nottingham Post It's been a good run up until now. Is there any concern that now with this first loss that all the good things you've done might come undone? Eddie Sirrel No. Absolutely not. I have faith in my guys that they know this is just one setback. We'll go back in training and work out some kinks and be better the next time out. Nothing about what happened in this match is going to carry over. That's not who we are.

Match Seventeen from Meadow Lane ouch Well... okay, it had to happen. Well I guess it didn't HAVE To happen but I assumed that it would at some point. The fact it took 17 matches is a strong statement to how well we've been playing. We just were not good in this match at all. Our shooting was terrible.