Life after Luke with a couple of (Notts) County fans
Magpie musings with Richard Ogando and Rob Davies
Friday 19 January 2024
NEXT HOME GAME: Harrogate – Saturday 3 February, 3pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Notts County – Saturday 20 January, 3pm
NOTTS COUNTY COACHES:
Bredbury Con Club: FULL
Crofter: FULL
Fingerpost: FULL
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Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and any Magpies joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Friday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore. The welcome may be warm, but the weather certainly isn’t, with a Meadow Lane pitch inspection scheduled for 8.30 tomorrow morning.
I’ve spoken to not one, but two Notts County fans this week as well. Our last meeting only took place 28 days ago, but there’s been loads to digest since then, with Luke Williams leaving for Swansea, and Stuart Maynard stepping up from Wealdstone. And there’s also the small matter of that 5-5 draw they had at Grimsby last Saturday. Richard Ogando from NCS News and Rob Davies from Gerrit Forward share their thoughts.
Today’s edition is sponsored by Beespoke Cleaning and Paws High Peak Dog Training. A big thank you to both Vicky and Neil.
Beespoke Cleaning supply all aspects of cleans, from regular to one-off and general to end-of-tenancy. Give Vicky a call on 07445 256191 or email info@beespokecleaning.com if you’ve got a house or office that needs a good clean.
Neil’s a fully qualified dog trainer and behaviourist with extensive credentials, and brings a wealth of experience to his work. If you think he can be of service, give him a call on 07795 195822 or email neil@pawshighpeak.co.uk.
Also, a big thank you to Crafty Crow, who sponsor our Notts County content on the website. I’ve actually been in there before. It’s a cracking city centre bar right opposite Nottingham Castle. If any of our readers are in Nottingham over the weekend (or any other time for that matter) pop in for a pint!
Finally, I’m currently walking every street in Stockport to raise money for mental health charity Mentell. If you’d like to make a donation to help me reach my target, please click here.
Total distance so far: 46.68 miles
Total steps so far: 83,302
Total raised so far: £1,037
Total completed streets so far: 24 (Click here for the full list, which includes reports and photos from every day of the walk.)
Further information on the walk can be found by clicking here.
Des Junior
How’s life after Luke Williams?
Richard: It wasn’t the best news to digest when it became apparent he was on his way but this happens in football and you have to remain philosophical about it. Luke managed to get us back into the EFL in a memorable, record breaking season and he will always be remembered fondly by Notts fans because of that. However, no one is irreplaceable and there is a structure at the club now that ensures there is a clear criteria to work with when looking at replacing personnel in different roles within the club, including head coach.
Rob: Fans and players alike were naturally hugely disappointed to lose Luke Williams, who made an immeasurable impact on and off the pitch in just 18 months and more than merited the opportunity to step up. It’s taken two weeks to hire his successor and there’s only been one game in that time so immediate on-field disruption has been minimal and the beauty of the setup now is the system is all about continuity and I wouldn’t expect a big change in the way we do things, as we saw when Williams took over from Ian Burchnall.
Yesterday, your new boss arrived. Stuart Maynard from Wealdstone. Initial reaction?
Richard: Personally I’m excited to see how he develops in a full-time role. What Maynard has achieved at Wealdstone given their part-time status and limited resources is commendable. Additionally he has many of the tactical traits that are now a blueprint of how Notts County want to play football. Each managerial change the owners have made since owning Notts has seen an improvement in results and I can only be hopeful that this remains the same with the new appointment. The great thing is that Maynard has been given a decent contract length and at 48 years old there’s a good chance he could stay with the club and be a part of its growth over the coming seasons.
Someone dropped Neil Warnock into the mix which was popular with many of the older fans but so misaligned with the club’s current values and criteria.
Rob: It’s an appointment very much in keeping with the other two head coaches our owners have recruited since they took charge of the club. Not many knew much about Ian Burchnall and Luke Williams when they arrived at Meadow Lane but both of those were headhunted by clubs which were then two leagues higher in the football pyramid, so we have evidence to suggest that they know what they’re doing when making managerial appointments.
It’s clearly a big step up for Maynard from Wealdstone but he will have convinced the club’s hierarchy it’s one he’s able to make and personally I’m excited to see what he can do. His achievements at Wealdstone in taking a relatively small, part-time side and making them highly competitive on a consistent basis in the National League were outstanding, but it’s the defensive solidity while still playing an attractive style of football that fans will hope he can ultimately replicate at Meadow Lane. Ultimately I’m not expecting much to change from Williams’ successful team/style which saw us promoted and then bounce into the League Two play-off places, which will have been a key consideration in the appointment.
The only slight surprise is that Maynard will take charge of us for Saturday’s game. I thought he may watch from the stands and leave it to the caretaker team. However, I wouldn’t expect major changes in terms of personnel, and hopefully it’ll give everyone that tiny bit more of an incentive to impress.
Which players should we be wary of on Saturday?
Richard: Probably no surprise but Langstaff, Jones and McGoldrick are the obvious answers. There are a couple of others I could add to that list but I don’t want to give too much away!
Rob: We have plenty of attacking talent you’ll need to be wary of, but the two obvious answers are the ones with the big numbers. Macaulay Langstaff, top scorer in the EFL with 20 goals, and Jodi Jones, most assists in the EFL with 16 including four last Saturday. We’ve also got the massively talented Dan Crowley and hugely experienced David McGoldrick, who is playing below his level in order to play for his boyhood club. But the issue is fitting so many talented players in the team which has often left us exposed at the back.
The last time we played at Notts County in the Football League, the attendance was 4,120, with 638 away fans. We’ve both significantly increased our attendances since then. How have Notts done it?
Richard: Relegation out of the Football League certainly had the effect of galvanizing the fanbase, but the whole Covid situation and not being able to get to watch games live has done much to increase attendances across all the leagues. I would also add that the style of play together with seeing the club win more games in an entertaining fashion has been a big part of that as well. Under Williams there was a great connection between the club and the fans and I’m sure that will continue under Maynard.
Rob: On the field success and the easy on the eye style of play has helped with this but Notts have been all about sustainable growth since our owners came in in 2019, and there’s also been a lot of work in improving the matchday experience as a whole. It’s been incredible to see so many 10,000+ gates this season, with another on the way this weekend. It’s way over and above what we used to get 10 years ago when we were top half in League One, but it’s undoubtedly been a collective effort.
What do you think of Stockport County – A) the club B) the manager C) the fans?
Richard: I quite like Stockport as a club. A proper club that’s also suffered some lows over the years and seem to have a decent fanbase.
As for Challinor there is no disputing he is a top manager who plays a decent brand of football and seems to be able to get the best out of the players.
Rob: I remember you were the first side we hosted in the National League, in what I believe was your first match back at that level. The away fans were great that day and it was clear you were a club on the way back. You’ve been my title pick the past two seasons and that hasn’t changed. Quality all over the pitch and Dave Challinor seems a likeable chap. It’s great to see Kyle Wootton doing well for you too; he was popular at Meadow Lane and I expect to see him get a good reception tomorrow.
Best and worst memories following Notts County?
Richard: Having been a Notts fan since the 1970s there are plenty of memories both good and bad.
Despite having a few Wembley play-off final wins to draw on, one of my favourite memories was right back in December 1982, a 3-2 win at home versus them lot over the river. It really was a fantastic blood and thunder game and being right behind the goal where Trevor Christie scored the winner is still very clear in my memory at a time when Forest were having a real purple patch in their history under Brian Clough.
Worst memory is much more recent. Seeing us relegated out of the EFL was something that really hurt at the time, however, in some respects it allowed us to rebuild better under new owners. Hopefully it’s a day in our history we never repeat.
Rob: Best – some success in the 90s and a crazy League Two title win in 2009-10 with Sven Goran Eriksson, Kasper Schmeichel and the fake sheikhs but apart from that it’s been tough going until last season’s record-breaking campaign, culminating in an unbelievable day at Wembley that will live long in the memory.
Worst – although it ended up creating good memories as we found our feet again, being relegated to the National League and losing our proud ‘World’s Oldest Football League Club’ tag was tough, and the summer after – where the club’s entire future was in jeopardy – even harder. Thankfully, it led us to the sensible owners we now have and we came back into the EFL far stronger than when we left it.
Best Notts County XI from players you’ve seen?
Richard: Again, forty odd years of following Notts means I have plenty to choose from and means leaving out some very good players but here goes…
Steve Cherry, Pedro Richards, Ray O’Brien, Brian Stubbs, Craig Short, Don Masson, Mark Draper, Tommy Johnson, Macaulay Langstaff, David McGoldrick, Gordon Mair.
There are so many other players I could have included in that list: Iain McCulloch, Les Bradd [Des: “Scored a hat-trick at Barnsley!”], Lee Hughes, Phil Robinson, Raddy Avramovic and more recently Matty Palmer and Ruben Rodrigues to name but a few.
Rob: Schmeichel; Finnan, Edwards, Liddle, Sheehan; Bishop; Davies, Judge, Grealish; Hughes, Langstaff.
Cheated a little as Finnan generally played on the wing for us. As in keeping with the modern side, there are far more options going forward than at the back even with 30 odd years of players to choose from.
Who do you hate more, Forest or Mansfield?
Richard: To be honest I will always have a residue of dislike towards Forest having come through school in the late 70s/early 80s taking no end of grief off other kids who were Forest fans. It was definitely a difficult time as a Notts fan.
Where Mansfield are concerned I don’t really hate them, just find them more as an annoyance than anything else.
Rob: This is probably dependent on your age; most supporters who watched Notts in the 70s/80s will say Forest as the two clubs used to face each other. But they’ve not had a league game since 1994 and only had one cup game since then, so for me it’d be Mansfield as they’ve tended to be our direct rivals (and generally seem to get the upper hand against us, irrespective of where we are in the league).
And, if it’s on, what’s your prediction for Saturday’s game?
Richard: Based on recent results it could be anything and almost impossible to predict. A 0-0 draw would be outrageously out of character for Notts right now. We are better at home and might have a little new manager bounce about us and I understand Stockport have a few injuries but I’d be inclined to go for a 2-2 draw.
Rob: After the first 5-5 draw in the club’s history last Saturday, who knows! We’ve been raining goals all season but shipping them at the same rate; even at Meadow Lane where we’ve generally been pretty good there’s been a 4-3, 4-2 and 3-2 this season so I think we can expect an entertaining game. I’ll go 2-2.
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Photo of the day
Bootham Crescent, York
County haven’t been to York’s new ground yet, but their former home was a cracking place to watch football.
Today in SK
🎶 DJs
Bask (SK1) have recently been granted an extended license, which means you can now party until 3am on a Friday night! Last entry 1.30am.
The Nelson Tavern (SK1) have their resident DJ playing on a Friday night, with Dicko (Ian Dickinson) on from 8pm till 1am.
🍟 Food and drink
10% off all drinks at Enigma (SK1). 12pm - 12am.
Ignore the “beer police” and support your local pub in January. If you’re in Stockport today, pop into The Petersgate Tap (SK1) for a pint or two. Open till 11pm.
Lite bite meal deal at The Friary (SK3). Cod or haddock, served with chips, and a side of peas, curry or gravy. Plus tea or coffee. £9.95. Open till 8pm.
Fish Friday at Platform 5 (SK8). Joseph Holt’s beer battered fish with chips, salt and vinegar scraps, tartare sauce and your choice of Manchester caviar and peas. Served with a drink. Served till 8pm. £14.95 per person.
🎤 Karaoke
Alexandra (SK3) with DJ Big Ace. 8pm.
🎸 Live music
The Eskimos at The Crown Inn (SK6). Classic rock, pop and indie covers. 9pm.
Random County fan of the day #19 – Laurie Freeman!
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