Back with another Left Magpie, Julian McDougall - our Notts County specialist - on what is beginning to look like a promotion-teasing campaign for the Pies!
All is good, since New Year's Day.
Things are looking good. I mean, SO good, since New Year’s Day.
On the first day of 2026, an abject home performance and a 0-1 defeat offered a shaky start to the year. In that moment, following a December which saw Notts slipping away from title contention, it felt like a turning point in the wrong direction. But since then, all good. All VERY VERY good.
At Crawley, Jodi Jones is viscerally sharper and curls in a superb opening goal. Jatta scores the second. Notts fan James Belshaw makes his debut and only a deflected free kick in the 94th minute denies a clean sheet to “one of our own”. But the scenes on full time are emotional.
We then go into a run of games in a short space of time with 4/6 at Meadow Lane. This is the moment, seize the day, etc. And Notts have.
Crewe are beaten 1-0 on a day when we play so well and make so many chances it should have been at least 3-0. Belshaw keeps a clean sheet in his home debut. It is even more emotional.
Swindon visit three days later. They score first and Ian Holloway brings all the dark arts. This looks familiar. But it isn’t. Jatta equalises just before half time and then Paterson enacts a masterful set of substitutions and Matthew Dennis scores the winner with his first touch. Notts were by far the better side against a team who have been ‘up there’ to critical acclaim all season.
And on to Fleetwood. A terrible pitch, hard physical battle. A classic set up for a Football Radar operation to flounder. But no. With the January signings and returning players offering intensity, strength and physical acumen much much more appropriate to the fourth tier, Notts respond to an undeserved equaliser by immediately regaining the lead, with sub Dennis making the impact again.
Off the pitch, we had a ‘good window’ – such a phrase is in the Daniel Gray lexicon now, things that only make sense in this curious football supporter discourse. Notts-born goalkeeper James Belshaw is the headline asset, but County also brought in Lee Ndlovu, a fine physical specimen who adds serious muscle and intensity to the forward line. We got attacking midfielder Harald Nilsen Tangen from Sarpsborg 08, another Scandi incoming through the Radar data mine. An unknown quantity. Could be a Jatta, could be a Traore (who is now out on loan).
We boost our options even further with Tamworth’s Beck-Ray Enoru, who is rapid, and famously terrorised Spurs in the FA Cup. Luke Browne comes in as defensive cover from Palace and another ‘one for the future’, as with Enoru. Across all of this, with the most notable ‘out’ being Roos on loan to Kilmarnock (see previous articles for detail on that paradox), we have, at the end of January, added excitement, strength and pace, a very good goalie who also happens to be a Kop regular and some very serious options on the bench and to cover injuries as we get to the ‘business end’.
There is definitely a sense that we need more ‘outs’ to balance the books and reduce the swollen squad, maintain coherence and good vibes. Thus, on deadline day, we felt quietly confident, as it was well understood, as Paterson has stated repeatedly, that to lose a key player at that point, with little chance of adequate replacement, would be a big, big problem. But it was equally well acknowledged that there is always a price, and our sustainable finance model is all about cashing in to re-invest.
We have a new song, a very fine creation, to ‘Radio Gaga’ - “ALL WE NEED IS .. DENNIS AND JATTA”. They both stayed.
Gillingham arrive on a horrible night at the Lane. Cold, biblically wet, a lower crowd and with enthusiasm literally dampened. But Gillingham are beaten, with the superbly returning Scott Robertson scoring within half an hour and then the superbly arriving Belshaw making a match winning double save at the end.
Barrow next. They are more tricky than we hoped for and equalise, then threaten. But Dennis again with the winner, and again Notts are resilient in the 7 extra minutes. Harald Nilsen Tangen comes on as sub and looks like a massive asset.
Six in a row. Good times. And it might just last. Margaret Atwood has a poem about February – “get going on a little optimism around here.”. That sounds about right.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
