2 new inbounds this week?

[magpie_mania]

An excellent post. My concern is if we were to get relegated it would be a pivotal moment in the clubs history. It could be a positive in that we could start again from scratch and re-build and come back stronger like Bristol Rovers, Oxford United and Luton Town. Or the negative is that we stay in there for a number of years (Wrexham) or even drop down further and wither away. I guess it's how the club approach the future.

The last time we had a season as pivotal as this one could be if we do get relegated was in 1994/95 when we dropped from the 2nd tier to the 3rd tier. That's the line between the lower leagues and the higher leagues. It will be 24 years at the end of the season in which we last played in the 2nd tier which is a generation ago.

I only hope that if we were to be relegated out of the football league we don't end up on a path where it will be a generation that passes since we went out of the football league. I do believe the club is strong in the sense that even in the 5th tier there would be a core of 3,500 - 4,000 which would make us a very heavily supported and big club at that level. In a sense that additional income means we should be able to build a competitive squad. It's not that simple though as big clubs like Leeds, Portsmouth, Sunderland and others have found out when they've dropped into the lower leagues. You then become the team everyone wants to beat.

A good post, but what do you mean by

'It could be a positive in that we could start again from scratch'?

[countygump]

[magicianpie]

On the Totally Football League podcast this week, Caroline Barker was trying not to get too excited by the prospect of having Notts in the National League - in case it didn’t eventually happen. It would be huge for non-league football if we went down, but let’s hope we deny them the pleasure. Still, if it does happen, at least we have the example of our neighbours and their “On loan to...” T-shirts when they first dropped into League 1 to help us avoid making stupid statements.

As for the 24 years in the lower leagues, that is depressing - especially as you can only call about 5 of the subsequent seasons enjoyable. I feel for those supporters who missed out on seeing Notts under Sir Jimmy or Warnock.

You could add Mick Walker to that list and Big Sam, but it has been famine mainly with odd feast. (N.B. not that I am directly comparing these two to Sir Jimmy and Warnock, but it was enjoyable!)

[nw6pie]

You could add Mick Walker to that list and Big Sam, but it has been famine mainly with odd feast. (N.B. not that I am directly comparing these two to Sir Jimmy and Warnock, but it was enjoyable!)

That Mick Walker season (and a half) was a lot of fun at home, but was the season before - 1993-94. Amazing to think we hammered both Derby and Leicester 4-1, beat F*****, and did the double over Crystal Palace (who went up as champions) that season. After that we’ve had the Big Sam promotion, the Munto promotion, a handful of playoff bids and a lot of misery. And this season tops the lot - from promotion favourites to odds-on for relegation in the space of 6 months.

[MAD_MAGPIE]

On the Totally Football League podcast this week, Caroline Barker was trying not to get too excited by the prospect of having Notts in the National League - in case it didn’t eventually happen. It would be huge for non-league football if we went down, but let’s hope we deny them the pleasure. Still, if it does happen, at least we have the example of our neighbours and their “On loan to...” T-shirts when they first dropped into League 1 to help us avoid making stupid statements.

As for the 24 years in the lower leagues, that is depressing - especially as you can only call about 5 of the subsequent seasons enjoyable. I feel for those supporters who missed out on seeing Notts under Sir Jimmy or Warnock.

I’m one of those that did not see us play under Sir Jimmy or Neil Warnock so consider yourselves lucky or privileged. I’ve seen us play once in the 2nd tier which was the first game I went to against Sunderland at home in the early 90’s. The best seasons we’ve had are the Allardyce, Munto and then other seasons like last season and Keith Curle one where we just missed out on the league one playoffs. I’ve enjoyed some of the cup games in that time. The rest has been seasons of struggle, relegations or relegation battles or started off well but dropped off and plummeted once the clocks go back.

In response to Magpie Mania I meant by it could be a positive if we go down we could come back stronger in that sometimes when teams drop down to the National league they take stock, rebuild and get a momentum going which can take them forward to the point they can even push or get into League One quite quickly after getting promoted back to the football league. I don’t want us to take that risk though. I’d sooner us finish 22nd in this league and that be our rock bottom in which to rebuild from there.

Apart from last seasons peak we have had 6 seasons of decline from when we just missed out on the league one playoffs in 2011/12 and each season since (apart from last season) we have finished lower and lower. Surely we have hit rock bottom now and we can’t sink any lower other than the obvious of dropping out of the football league?

[Boston flyer]

However.. What on earth does that mean? You big tease you..

[ForeignLegion]

They have 18 games to save themselves, with, hopefully, some shrewd additions. Plenty of time yet. Probably THE most critical 2 weeks in the club's history coming up.

[McCullochisGod]

They have 18 games to save themselves, with, hopefully, some shrewd additions. Plenty of time yet. Probably THE most critical 2 weeks in the club's history coming up.

MASSIVE WEEK to NOTHING THIS WEEK! Sums it up really.

[slack_pie]

That Mick Walker season (and a half) was a lot of fun at home, but was the season before - 1993-94. Amazing to think we hammered both Derby and Leicester 4-1, beat F*****, and did the double over Crystal Palace (who went up as champions) that season. After that we’ve had the Big Sam promotion, the Munto promotion, a handful of playoff bids and a lot of misery. And this season tops the lot - from promotion favourites to odds-on for relegation in the space of 6 months.

Ah that Mick Walker season was my favourite ever (as you can see from my avatar). I remember wearing the full bar code kit to 'own clothes day' at school with pride. Didn't we also beat Spurs in the cup that year?

[nw6pie]

Ah that Mick Walker season was my favourite ever (as you can see from my avatar). I remember wearing the full bar code kit to 'own clothes day' at school with pride. Didn't we also beat Spurs in the cup that year?

That famous Spurs win came the following season when we got relegated (the infamous Howard "Hic" Kendall 94-95 season) despite us having the kind of players we could only dream of these days. Definitely one of the best ever nights in the redeveloped Meadow Lane.

It was clearly a long time ago, because the coverage on Central News was very good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vDLTokUyGQ