Left Magpie: August 2025 Season Preview

Why did you become a Notts County supporter?

My dad took me to Meadow Lane. He was more of a cricket man and he had a parking space at County Hall. Notts and Forest were both in the second division, not much between them, but Forest drew bigger crowds. The County Hall car park was open access for fans and he’d noticed that it was full when Forest played but not for Notts. So Meadow Lane it was. Meadow Lane in those days was wooden stands and pipe smoke, sausage rolls and Bovril. I loved it. I wanted a season ticket and to go to some away games.  I got my wish. Forest then appointed Brian Clough. I wouldn’t go back and change it, but…

Describe your matchday experience…

I live in Birmingham and work in Dorset some weeks so it is not easy! But once I get close the routine is the same. I stay at my Mum’s in Beeston, tram to the station, then to the Magpie Tap with Jim Cooke and a group of die-hards, then into the Pavis to take my place in the home of league football. The experience from there all depends on Notts, of course.

How did you feel you did last season?

I will use the word Stuart Maynard made work so hard in so many post-match interviews: frustrating. We made another strong start and were top ‘early doors’. McGoldrick was next level but it was all the other way around, a strong defence and great keeper but not much attacking threat, just loads and loads and loads and loads of possession. The home defeats in the later stages did for us, then a brief return of hope when we beat Harrogate away to secure play-offs was immediately erased when we approached them like that famous Einstein quote about expecting a different result from the same actions. It was never going to work and Maynard paid the price. I thought that was right, but he was not helped when his coaching team left and by our January recruitment. 

Tell us about the gaffer…

Martin Paterson was an underwhelming appointment, but he comes as part of a new Technical Board which will provide “data-led metrics, analysis and insights to the dugout in as near to real time as possible.” I think the owners understand now that possession alone is not working, so I can go with it on the appointment and that whole data thing. But the team is weak and at the time of writing this I am not happy at all. We’re not sure if Jatta is staying, or if he is going to click again anyway. We’ve lost a reliable keeper and replaced him with an unknown. Our new signings look, at this point, like a repetition of the January approach - technically strong, lots of future potential, but lacking experience at this level.

What’s happening off the field?

Nobody is going to complain about the owners and what they have done off the pitch is fantastic. Bringing in new revenue, with The Nest and other developments, now the new training ground. It is all good and I pray they maintain enthusiasm for the project. But now we need results to match that endeavour.

Any new signings you are excited about?

I mean, honestly at this point I can’t say. We have lost so much quality and the new players are ‘known unknowns’. I think probably Sonny Aljofree for a season could be the new George Abbott, in terms of a young loanee from a Premier League youth team. But what we probably need is further up the pitch. 

Any key departures? What big boots are there to fill?

How long do we have?! Recently, we lost Didzy’s goals and experience and Alex Bass from the goal.  George Abbott returned to Spurs. And that is a lot! Jatta may also yet depart. But we lost Langstaff the summer before and the pantomime villain but nonetheless superb Dan Crowley in January and neither have been replaced. So combining all of those, it feels like the business model makes us a sustainable selling club right now. However, I hope it is just a stage in gradual progression and I do still ‘trust the process’.

What’s the mood of the fans coming into the new season?

I left social media recently because of the ownership of X and then Bluesky’s algorithm not really happening for me, so I am less across all that but my understanding is that it is not optimistic, for the reasons above. We wanted Luke Williams back but he is working at Bristol Airport (true) and there was the seemingly random coaching appointment shortly after club legend McGoldrick left. Let's hope we are wrong. On the other hand we got back into the football league and consider last season’s play off defeat to be a failure. So, in the bigger picture, things are good.

Tell us about your captain…

Matty Palmer was absolutely top ranking in the National League, then got injured soon into our return to the 92. Last season he was below par, but he had weaker options around him. He is very quiet for a captain. This season is a big deal for him in this role, assuming he stays in it. 

Where do you think you’ll finish come May 2026?

So difficult to answer this. But I will focus on ‘based on current information’ and say 10th. Recruit well between now and the window closing and we can be in the play-offs again. Note - if anyone reads this and my season preview piece for When Saturday Comes and wonders why my prediction has changed, it is because that was written several weeks ago and I was trusting the process prior to key outgoings.

What does being a football fan mean to you?

I wrote a piece on this for LeftLion recently, about what Lowry captured in his painting Going to the Match. I wrote this, and it answers the question - “go to the match, be in the crowd, hope to win, drink beer, eat a pie, and, regardless of the outcome, repeat, again, and again. Many of us are like those figures. Walk from the station, into the Magpie Tap, talk about football, mostly, or only - an existential lens, ‘going to the match’, simply, purely even. We just keep going. And we love it.”  

If your current team was a song what would it be and why?

We are the Robots by Kraftwerk. It’s all about data-led metrics.