Its been a while since I've posted on here, but with us all being quarantined for the next few decades, I thought I might as well rekindle my love/obsession for this series of games, and what better club to do that with than my (new) local side, Notts County, who's ground is only a half hour walk from my house in the student area of Nottingham
Notts County fans have been rocked by the news that boss Neal Ardley has left the club after less than a year at the helm
Ardley, 47, took over in November 2018 but couldn't prevent relegation from the Football League, finishing 23rd in League 2, ending County's 157 year spell in the Football League, with the world's oldest professional club dropping into the National League
It is unknown exactly why Ardley left the club, but with the season just a month and a half away, County fans are growing increasingly worried at the prospect of a prolonged spell in non-league
Notts County have sent shockwaves through the English football world today with news that they have hired a university student!
Matthew Hawkins, an undergraduate at the University of Nottingham, has today been unveiled as the new boss at the world's oldest professional club
Hawkins, 20, said "he couldn't believe it", claiming he was informed of County's intention to interview for the position as he was selecting his modules for the next academic year, he has now deferred a year
The appointment of the Welshman, who studied Politics at the university, has been met with shock by County fans already worried at the prospect of a season in non-league
With the expectation being that County should bounce straight back into the Football League, Hawkins will be under pressure to hit the ground running
Founded in 1862, Notts County are the oldest professional football club in the world. Despite this, County's history is nowhere near as illustrious as their cross-city rivals Nottingham Forest, with the Magpies' trophy cabinet holding just the one FA Cup, three second and fourth tier titles as well as one Anglo-Italian Cup
With basic youth and training facilities, its not exactly La Masia here in Nottingham, with the best local talent being hoovered up by either Forest or the other East Midlands "giants" of Leicester City and Derby County
With a capacity of 19,841 is by far the biggest ground in the Vanarama National, with it almost twice the size of Wrexham's Racecourse Ground (the second biggest in the league) and the revenue from this ground will be key in any success we have
This squad should be enough to take us up and I don't intend on adding much to it. There's plenty of experience in this squad, with the majority having previously played in the Football League and Ben Turner completing a season in the Premier League with Cardiff City. Added to that is the excitement of Enzio Boldewijn, who's played in the Eredivise! He's far too good for us and hopefully nobody tells him that
Financially things look really good and with money spinning friendlies against Fulham and Leeds United coming up this should only improve. Like I said, we really should be getting out of this division at the first time of asking. One or two notable exceptions aside (Wrexham and Chesterfield) we're twice the size of anyone else in this division
This is the general shape we'll be using to fire us back into the Football League. Regan Booty is a fantastic midfielder at this level and will add quality to the endeavour of Doyle and Rose in the middle of the park. Ben Turner is a brilliant centre back and should be commanding in the backline, whilst Brindley, Bakayogo, McCrory and Kelly-Evans are all very capable full backs. Boldewijn should create plenty of chances for the lone striker of Wes Thomas to put home
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Notts County 1-1 Aldershot Town
Slocombe, Brindley, Lacey, Turner, McCrory, Booty, O'Brien, Doyle, Boldewijn (Bakayogo 77), Roberts, Thomas (Dennis 77) Not the most inspiring performance for my first game, but we didn't lose so I'll take it
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE FC Halifax 1-1 Notts County
Slocombe, Brindley, Lacey, Turner, McCrory, Booty, O'Brien (Rose 67), Doyle, Boldewijn, Roberts, Thomas Again, not the greatest of performances but we still should have won as we had the lion's share of possession and chances
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Notts County 1-0 Chesterfield
Slocombe, Brindley, Lacey, Turner, McCrory (Bakayogo 67), Booty, Rose, Doyle, Boldewijn, Roberts, Thomas My first big test in the local derby against Chesterfield and it wasn't even close. A crowd of over 12,000 saw us batter our opponents as we had 16 shots and 10 on target, with the visitors managing just one shot all game
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Wrexham 0-1 Notts County
Slocombe, Brindley (Kelly-Evans 67), Lacey, Turner, McCrory, Booty, Rose, Doyle, Boldewijn, Roberts, Thomas (Dennis 67) Another big game and another big win although the margins should be larger
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Notts County 1-0 Bromley
Slocombe, Brindley, Betts, Lacey, McCrory, Booty, O'Brien, Doyle, Boldewijn, Eyoma, Thomas More domination, we just need to stick a few more of these shots into the net
LEAGUE TABLE
A solid start to life at County, unbeaten in 5 and looking good. Just need a few more goals
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Torquay United 0-1 Notts County
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Turner, McCrory (Bakayogo 62), Booty, O'Brien, Doyle, Boldewijn, Eyoma, Thomas (Dennis 86) A long trip down to Devon brought us another trio of points as Aaron Eyoma makes that left wing spot his own. Richard Brindley is out for the season with a broken leg
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Barnet 0-0 Notts County
Slocombe, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lacey, Turner, McCrory, Booty, O'Brien, Doyle, Boldewijn, Eyoma (Roberts 59), Thomas Two of the league leaders couldn't be separated here although on balance we were probably the better side, still a good point
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Notts County 3-1 Woking
Slocombe, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lacey, Turner, McCrory (Bakayogo 65), Booty, O'Brien, Doyle, Boldewijn, Eyoma, Thomas That's more like it! Three points and plenty of goals, a shame about their consolation though
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Notts County 1-0 Dover Athletic
Slocombe, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lacey, Turner (Bird 63), McCrory, Booty, Rose, Doyle (O'Brien 76), Boldewijn, Eyoma, Thomas Phew! We really got out of jail here with a late penalty required to see of lowly Dover, still it'll do
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Harrogate Town 0-0 Notts County
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Turner (Bird 79), McCrory (Bakayogo 72), Booty, Rose, Doyle, Boldewijn (Roberts 67), Eyoma, Thomas Now this was annoying. We laid siege to the Harrogate goal throughout the 90 but just couldn't get through. A better striker and we'd **** this league
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Notts County 3-0 Yeovil Town
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Turner (Bird 75), Bakayogo, Booty, Rose, Doyle, Boldewijn, Eyoma, Thomas (Roberts 64) Another big win to round off the month
LEAGUE TABLE
Another unbeaten month sees us top of the tree going into October
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Stockport County 2-0 Notts County
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Turner (Bird 71), McCrory (Bakayogo 80), Booty, O'Brien, Doyle, Boldewijn, Eyoma (Roberts 71), Thomas And the unbeaten run ends
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Notts County 0-1 Hartlepool United
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Turner, McCrory, Booty, Rose (O'Brien 69), Doyle, Boldewijn (Roberts 69), Eyoma, Thomas Is this where the descent begins? We were decent but just couldn't score
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Dagenham and Redbridge 0-3 Notts County
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Turner, Bakayogo, Booty, Rose, Doyle, Boldewijn, Eyoma, Thomas (Dennis 67) Back to winning ways! A big win in London gets us back to what we're used to
FA CUP FOURTH QUALIFYING ROUND Notts County 3-2 Farsley Celtic
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Turner (Rawlinson 84), McCrory, Booty, Rose, Doyle, Boldewijn (Roberts 79), Eyoma, Thomas (Wootton 68) They scored both shots on target and they were both screamers, but we showed great resolve in coming back to win it late on
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Chorley 0-2 Notts County
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Turner, McCrory, Booty, Rose, Doyle (O'Brien 60), Boldewijn, Eyoma, Thomas Another win! The winning ways are continuing in Nottingham
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Notts County 3-0 Boreham Wood
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Notts County 2-0 Sutton United
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Turner, McCrory, Booty, Rose (O'Brien 80), Doyle, Boldewijn, Eyoma, Thomas (Dennis 77) A solid home win as we dominate again
FA CUP FIRST ROUND Oldham Athletic 1-2 Notts County
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Turner, Bakayogo, Booty, Rose (O'Brien 66), Doyle, Boldewijn, Eyoma (Roberts 80), Thomas What a win! To go ahead so early and then concede almost immediately was a shock, but Wes Thomas finally scored a goal, putting us into the net round!
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Ebbsfleet United 2-0 Notts County
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Turner, Bakayogo, Booty, Rose (O'Brien 64), Doyle, Boldewijn, Eyoma, Thomas (Dennis 64) Back down to earth
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Notts County 2-0 Eastleigh
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Turner, Bakayogo, Booty, Rose, Doyle (O'Brien 58), Boldewijn, Eyoma, Thomas (Dennis 58) A completely dominant performance as Eastleigh had only one shot but bizarrely we couldn't break through until the end
FA CUP SECOND ROUND Southend United 0-1 Notts County
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Turner, Bakayogo, Booty, Rose (Anderson 68), Doyle, Boldewijn, Eyoma (Roberts 78), Thomas Holy ****.
Vanarama National League leaders Notts County have announced the arrival of 4 new signings as they attempt to return to the Football League at the first attempt
Coming in are 2 loanees and 2 permanent signings as County overcame their toughest month yet as they played 8 games in December
The Magpies have brought in Depo Mebude and Ale Hunt on season long loans from Rangers and Huddersfield respectively to add guile to a side that have been slightly impotent in front of goal
Joining them are permanent signings Alex Samuel and Julian Anderson. Samuel has joined from Wycombe on a free transfer as the ex-Swansea striker seeks first team football, Anderson has joined for a fee of £22,500 from Rangers
These have come in following a month in which County were tested to their limit, playing 8 fixtures and losing just one as they tighten their grip on first position in the Vanarama National
These fixtures included a 3-0 smashing of Fylde, a 4-1 victory over Hartlepool, a 2-0 win away to title challengers Barrow and a nervy 1-0 victory over Kettering in the FA Trophy
League and cup action as we continue our march to the Football League
FA CUP THIRD ROUND Wigan Athletic 1-0 Notts County
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Turner, McCrory (Bakayogo 63), Booty, O'Brien, Doyle (Rose 81), Boldewijn, Roberts (Samuel 63), Mebude We came so close to giving the over 6,000 travelling fans something to cheer about but unfortunately Wigan's superior quality told in the end
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Aldershot Town 0-1 Notts County
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans (Bakayogo 37), Lacey, Turner, McCrory, Booty, O'Brien (Rose 63), Doyle, Boldewijn, Mebude, Thomas We looked like a slump may follow our disappointing cup exit but Boldewijn was our saviour with a late strike
FA TROPHY SECOND ROUND Notts County 3-2 Farsley Celtic
Slocombe, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lacey, Turner (Bird 83), McCrory, Booty, Rose, Doyle, Boldewijn (Roberts 63 [Bakayogo 85]), Mebude, Thomas Same opposition, same result as before
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Notts County 1-1 FC Halifax
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Chesterfield 1-1 Notts County
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Bird, McCrory (Bakayogo 83), Booty, Rose, Doyle 40, Boldewijn (Eyome 83), Mebude, Thomas Did well to battle back after a stupid red card
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Notts County 1-2 Torquay United
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Turner, McCrory (Bakayogo 69), Booty, O'Brien, Rose, Boldewijn (Eyoma 69), Mebude, Thomas Nothing's going our way at the moment
Notts County's 4-1 victory over Altrincham has put the Magpies into the FA Trophy semi finals against Aldershot as they aim for a double this season
The Magpies sit top of the Vanarama National heading into March after an impressive February, beating Bromley, Barrow and Fylde as well as drawing at home to Wrexham
This leaves County top with only two months of the season to go and fans salivating at the prospect of an immediate return to the Football League as well as a Wembley cup final
NOTTS COUNTY 3 (3)
ALDERSHOT TOWN 1 (2)
Notts County overcame the 1-0 loss at Aldeshot in the first leg by beating The Shots 3-1 in front of almost 8,000 at Meadow Lane
First half goals from Ben Turner and Alex Lacey sent County on their way, whilst a second half screamer from loanee Alex Hunt put County in cruise control
A Craig Tanner goal for Aldershot, however, ensured a fraught final few minutes as Aldershot searched for an elusive equaliser
The victory means a league-cup double is still on for County as they head into the final month of the season
March saw some inconsistency in the league as County won 3, drew 2 and lost 1, cutting their lead at the top to just 2 points over second placed Barnet
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Notts County 0-1 Harrogate Town
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Turner (Bird 77), McCrory, Booty, Doyle, Hunt, Boldewijn, Mebude, Thomas (Samuel 58) 22 shots. No goals. Bollocks.
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Sutton United 1-2 Notts County
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Turner, McCrory (Bakayogo 80), Booty, Hunt, Doyle (Bucalossi 72), Boldewijn, Mebude (Thomas 90), Samuel Phew! Boldewijn saved us again with a brace as we try and keep Barnet at arm's length
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Notts County 1-1 Stockport County
Slocombe, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lacey, Turner, McCrory, Doyle, Hunt (Bucalossi 90), Rose (O'Brien 70), Boldewijn (Eyoma 56), Mebude, Samuel COREY BUCALOSSIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!! The teenager scored his first ever Ccounty goal just minutes after coming on to potentially save our season
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Solihull Moors 2-2 Notts County
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans, Lacey, Turner, McCrory, Booty, Hunt (Bucalossi 64), Doyle, Boldewijn, Mebude, Samuel (Stephenson 76) Mebude's late equaliser keeps us top going into the final day. On goal difference
VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE Notts County 3-1 Dagenham & Redbridge
Slocombe, Kelly-Evans (Oxlade-Chamberlain 88), Lacey, Turner, McCrory, Booty, Hunt (Bucalossi 74), Rose, Boldewijn, Mebude, Samuel (Stephenson 74) WE'RE UP! A routing victory over Dagenham was enough to get us into the Football League at the first time of asking
NOTTS COUNTY 2 Rose (36), Boldewijn (90+2) KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS 0
Notts County have lifted the FA Trophy following an impressive 2-0 victory over Kidderminster Harriers at Wembley
Backed by 40,000 at Wembley, the Magpies dominated both in the stands and on the pitch, producing an impressive performance to seal a league and cup double
County opened the scoring with a well worked goal from midfielder Mitch Rose before Enzio Boldewijn's late breakaway goal sealed the victory and the silverware
Its been a busy summer as we prepare for our return to the Football League
INCOMINGS ALEX HUNT - HUDDERSFIELD TOWN - LOAN
He performed well for us last season and in spite of their relegation, Wednesday were happy for us to have him again this time around. Great dal.
DAPO MEBUDE - RANGERS - LOAN
Another loan extension. 7 goals in 20 is a good record for a striker, especially considering he spent most of his time on the wing last season so we were more than happy to have him back
ALFIE WHITEMAN - TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR - LOAN
Another loanee in the shape of Whiteman, a goalkeeper with genuine Premier League experience for Spurs. He's straight in the starting XI
MORGAN FEENEY - EVERTON - LOAN
Our defence needed strengthening and Feeney does just that. Already played at a higher level as he spent a season at Tranmere in League 1 so he should be more than good enough for us
NATHAN BROADHEAD - EVERTON - LOAN
Last of the loans, and in my view the most impressive. Like Feeney, Broadhead has played at a higher level, spending a season with Burton Albion last season, helping them finish 4th as they narrowly missed out on promotion. He should be a star.
MATTY FOULDS - EVERTON - FREE TRANSFER
Another from Everton in the form of left back Matty Foulds. Initially at Bury, Foulds spent years with the Toffees but never made an appearance, he'll be our starting left back
GEORGE WILLIAMS - FOREST GREEN ROVERS - FREE TRANSFER
A Welsh international who can play on both sides and has experience at a higher level? Yes please.
TOM PARKES - EXETER CITY - FREE TRANSFER
Experience all over the Football League as we look to provide competition for places. Lacey, Turner, Parkes and Feeney all very capable centre backs
REECE COLE - BRENTFORD - FREE TRANSFER
Reece has played everywhere; London, South Wales, Devon, Scotland and wherever Macclesfield is. Now he'll play in Nottingham with Hunt and Booty.
COLE SKUSE - IPSWICH TOWN - FREE TRANSFER
We needed some experience to help the the young players and we found Mr.Experience. Over 500 games in the Football League for Bristol City and Ipswich Town on a free. Bargain.
IWAN TATTUM - CARMARTHEN TOWN - FREE TRANSFER
The heir to Turner's defensive crown
PHIL MCCARTHY - CARDIFF MET UNI - FREE TRANSFER
Backup to Kelly-Evans, I expect him to be starting by the end of the season
JORDAN REILLY - UCD - £15,000
Another student! This one will provide backup to Broadhead on the left with a view to him starting next season, I'm excited!
YILMAZ KURT - CHESTER - £3,600
A steal at less than £4,000!
YOUNGSTERS
Some players for the future. They cost around £150,000 in total
DEPARTURES Two big departures were Kyle Wootton, who went to Wrexham for £25,000, and Cal Roberts who went to MK Dons for £150,000
A lot of players were released: Zoumana Bakayogo, Michael Doyle (both retired), Connel Rawlinson, Jim O'Brien, Matt Tootle, Ross Fitzsimons, Kristian Dennis, Sam Slocombe, Richard Brindley, Wes Thomas, Tom Crawford and Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain
Our first month back in the Football League, how did we get on?
SKY BET LEAGUE TWO Grimsby Town 0-1 Notts County
Whiteman, Kelly-Evans, Feeney, Turner, Foulds, Booty, Hunt, Cole (Skuse 79), Boldewijn (Williams 65), Boradhead, Mebude (Samuel 61) A good away win to mark our return to this level, I'll take that
SKY BET LEAGUE TWO Notts County 4-1 Macclesfield Town
Whiteman, Kelly-Evans, Feeney, Turner, Foulds, Booty, Hunt, Cole (Bucalossi 77), Boldewijn, Broadhead (Williams 66), Mebude (Samuel 66) 4-0 up at half time I expected a few more goals, unfortunately they didn't come but 4-1 will do
SKY BET LEAGUE TWO Newport County 5-2 Notts County
LEAGUE CUP FIRST ROUND Salford City 1-2 Notts County
Whiteman, McCarthy, Feeney, Parkes, McCrory, Booty (Skuse 81), Hunt, Adeniran, Williams, Reilly, Kurt The reserves did well. First club goals for prospects Reilly and Kurt
CRYSTAL PALACE 2
NOTTS COUNTY 2
Crystal Palace won 6-5 on penalties
Notts County fans suffered late anguish at Selhurst Park as midfielder Reece Cole missed the decisive penalty in their League Cup Fourth Round tie with Crystal Palace
The Magpies had performed well away at the Premier League side, coming back from 1-0 down through Dion Kelly-Evans and taking a 2-1 lead through loanee Dapo Medube
It wasn't to be for County on the night as young midfielders Reece Cole and Alex Hunt missed in the shootout
Its been a good season for County, with the Magpies recording another unbeaten month in the league; beating Scunthorpe, Exeter, Crewe, Solihull Moors and Mansfield as well as drawing away at Walsall, smashing in 10 goals in the process
This run of form has left them top of the league heading into November
Whiteman, McCarthy, Lacey, Parkes, Foulds, Booty (Rose 59), Hunt, Adeniran, Williams, Broadhead (Reilly 67), Kurt (Samuel 73) A simple victory puts us through
SKY BET LEAGUE TWO Notts County 1-0 Salford City
Whiteman, Holden, Parkes, Turner, Foulds (McCrory 74), Booty, Adeniran, Cole, Williams (Kurt 69), Reilly 34, Mebude Got the win in a tough game despite Reilly's best efforts
SKY BET LEAGUE TWO Cambridge United 0-2 Notts County
Whiteman, Kelly-Evans, Feeney, Lacey, Foulds, Booty, Hunt, Cole Boldewijn (Williams 61), Broadhead, Mebude A routine victory keeps us at the summit
FA CUP SECOND ROUND Leyton Orient 0-4 Notts County
Whiteman, Kelly-Evans, Feeney, Lacey, Foulds (McCrory 76), Skuse, Hunt, Cole, Boldewijn, Williams (Broadhead 76), Mebude We play Wolves in the next round
League Two leaders Notts County have kicked off the transfer window with a bang by announcing the signings of 8 players for a combined fee of £57,000
County have brought in a number of young players, principally from Ireland, with Gareth O'Reilly, James Barnes and Joe Deane joining on free transfers following the expiration of their contracts with Dundalk, Wexford and Derry City respectively
The Magpies also spent money, with striker Paul Bremner joining from Celtic for £25,000 and winger Eoin Graham joining from Northern Ireland's Dungannon Swifts for £17,000
They also raided Stockport County, signing youngsters Jose Smart and Martin Roach for £6,000 and £9,000 respectively
County completed their business with the singing of Tashan Oakley-Boothe on loan from Stoke
The Magpies are sitting pretty at the top of League Two following another unbeaten month, beating Rochdale 1-0, Northampton 4-0, Scunthorpe 2-0 and Crewe 3-2. They also drew against Bolton 0-0.
Despite a poor January, Notts County have been able to keep their grip at the top of Sky Bet League Two
County were acrimoniously dumped out of the FA Cup by Wolves 3-0 and lost three league games, tight 1-0s away to Plymouth and Macclesfield and a very poor 3-1 defeat at home to Newport County
These defeats were interspersed with victories, including a 3-1 victory at home to Exeter and 2-0s at home against Grimsby and Walsall
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